Finding Narnia: A Prince Caspian Love Story
by PrincessCaspian
Summary: Jade wanted a new life for herself and her sister. She thought that going to college in England would be the perfect way to escape...but what happens when she finds love, war, and happiness in and entirely new world? OC/Caspian. Rated M for safety
1. Chapter 1: A New Home For Us

Name: Jade Ebony

Name: Jade Ebony  
Age: 18 (Senior in High school)  
Hair: Long, straight, onyx black hair that reaches past your shoulders.  
Eyes: Bright green  
Body Type: 5'3" tall (kind of short :) Skinny with subtle curves, but elegant. Pale skin.  
Current Location: America (Pennsylvania)  
Family: Mother and Younger Sister (Alex).Your father is dead, but you have a stepfather. You also have a little kitty named Scotty! Unfortunately, you have 3 stepbrothers who just LOVE to beat up on you. One is your age, 18, and his name is Ryan. The other is 17, Ben, and the last is 13, Mike.

You lay peacefully on your bed, letting the rays of the sun shine on you as you reluctantly started waking yourself up.

It was Monday…awesome.

You lifted the covers from your slender form, ridding yourself of the warmth they provided in an attempt to fully wake yourself up. Not such use. You walked over to your dresser, half-conscious, and began to pick of an outfit that would suit this beautiful spring day.

"_Only two more months…then I'm out of here"_ you happily thought.

Home wasn't home anymore, at least not for you and your sister, ever since your mother remarried. Your stepfather was like the demon spawner of three boys: Ryan, Ben, and Mike…the names of evil. All little clones copies of one another…all the same…all down to their dark brown hair and liberal freckles.

Your step-father had successfully turned your mother into an oblivious bitch, always taking his side and not heeding to your needs

However, there was hope. You were leaving for college this fall…all the way to England. You couldn't wait! You had always wanted to go there, but weren't sure how homesick you would get. But now that your dad was out of the picture, that acceptance letter was your calling. In fact, there was no way you could even afford to go to college there if your father hadn't left you so much money in his will. You were thankful, but sad.

Of course…there were some things you would miss…such as-

"Jade! Jade!" your six-year-old sister called franticly. Her deep blue eyes had a sense of worry in them, and her dark black hair was disheveled from sleep.

She ran up to you and hugged your right leg, yanking on your blue pajama shorts. You knelt down beside her to comfort her.

"What's wrong, Al?" you asked. Her name was Alex, but she liked it when you called her Al for short.

"They're hurting Scotti again!" she cried and tears began to spill down her eyes. "Make them stop!" she pleaded further.

Rage was present in your eyes. They would always do this. They couldn't give your poor cat any peace. You swiftly picked up your crying sister and marcher toward the boys' room.

Opening the door, you saw Ben and Mike annoying your cat. They were pulling her tail while her arms and legs were tied up by rubber bands. Ryan was most likely in the bathroom.

"Honestly…" you said, marching up to them. Ben was a year younger than you, and Mike was in 7th grade, "Don't you have anything better to do before school. You should be-"

You were cut off by Ryan pinning you to the opposite wall, clad in only a towel, water dripping down his toned form. You stared him down. He smirked at you.

"Like what you see?" He asked suggestively.

"You wish." You said through clenched teeth, trying to pry free.

He pushed himself closer to you, his lips on your ear. "What seems to be the problem?"

"What do you think?" you replied.

Ryan turned around, analyzing his brothers at play. "Leave the stupid cat alone." He said. His voice was like finality for his dumb lackey brothers. He turned back to you, "Anything else I can help you with?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"No thanks." You said turning around to leave as Alex rescued Scotti and left the room. You were stopped as a rough hand grasped your upper arm. You turned around to receive a smack in the face.

"Say thank you next time, bitch." He let go of your arm and pushed you out of the room. You followed Alex back to your room, holding you left cheek in pain as you went.

Alex laid Scotti on your bed, petting her excessively and whispering "I love you" and "Sorry" to her lovingly. She looked up at you.

"Jade…are you really leaving?" she asked. You hated when college was brought up. You didn't know how you could even bear to leave her alone in this madhouse. You sat on your bed and scooped her in your lap.

"Don't worry, Al" you cooed, "I'll get a few jobs and save up money to bring you over to England with me. It may take a couple years, but I promise you, I'll find a new home for the both of us. I'll take you away from here." You both hugged each other in fear of ever having to let go. When you parted, you noticed she was smiling.

"Am I going to go to school in England too!?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course!" you said, "It'll just be the two of us." She smiled in satisfaction.

"I can't wait!" she jumped off of you and began to clap her hands in excitement.

"Me either! Now hurry up and get ready for school. You know how mom gets when you keep her waiting."

She happily skipped out of the room and you returned to your dresser, picking out a flowy, long white skirt and a matching tight, white spaghetti strap shirt that showed a bit of your flat stomach.

"_Don't worry, Alex. I'll find a new home for the both of us."_ You thought as you prepared for the long day ahead of you.


	2. Chapter 2: Run Away

You signed as you stared down question 12, hoping it would disapear of the paper

Name: Jade Ebony  
Age: 18 (Senior in Highschool)  
Hair: Long, straight, black hair that reaches past your shoulders.  
Eyes: Bright green  
Body Type: 5'3" tall (kinda short :).Skinny with subtle curves, but elegant. Pale skin.  
Current Location: America (Pennsylvania)  
Family: Mother and Younger Sister (Alex).Your father is dead, but you have a stepfather. You also have a little kitty named Scotty! Unfortunately, you have 3 stepbrothers who just LOVE to beat up on you. One is your age, 18, and his name isRyan. The other is 17, Ben, and the last is 13, Mike.

You sighed as you stared down question 12, hoping it would disapear of the paper.  
_  
__'Or the face of the earth'_ you thought.

Let's just say math wasn't your best subject. You were great at English and Ceramics, and at least you participated in Gym class unlike all the other girls who didn't want to get all sweaty in the middle of the day, but you weren't so great at math. Not amazing..not horrible. But good enough for you. Now…at least you weren't horrible like your step-brother Ryan who was coincidentally in the same class as you, right behind you. He was the perfect example of a rock with legs.

You could feel his hot breath on the back of your neck as he strained his neck to get a quick glance at your answers.

"Hurry up, bitch. I don't know 12 either." he whispered.

_'Wow, that may have just given me the motivation to solve this problem' _you thought.

Now you were intent on just leaving your answer blank. Who the fuck cares anyway, it's not like it would matter much. You just hated your brother and would go out of your way to make his life difficult…which is what he did to you on a daily basis. To make things better, you rested you head on your propped up arm, allowing your long hair to block Ryan's view of your test.

"Jade Ebony, huh?" he whispered, which instantly made you stiffen. This was always a sore subject... "Still writing that name on all your tests?"

You'd get more of his shit after class. When your mother married your step-father, it was like the end of the world for you. New house, new school, and all of this before your senior year. You're life wasn't horrible, just horribly unfair for you. And to top things off, your mom hadn't kept her maiden name. You were so positive she would, it was like a symbol. A symbol for...your dad.

"_Dad…"_

"Jade" Ugh…Ryan again. "Move your fucking hair. I can't-"

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

_'Finally'_ you thought as the bell rang, signaling your freedom. Another day of hell was over... only to be greeted by more when you get home.

"You're gonna get it now, bitch." Ryan said as he passed you, elbowing you along the way which caused you to spill all of your books. Him and his dumbass friends left the room, chuckling at you as they walked by. You left the class in a hurry, hoping that your brother wouldn't leave school without you again.

_'Sharing a car sucks'__  
_  
Stepping out into the fresh air, you noticed your silver camri (YOUR! not your brothers. It had been YOUR car before) parked outside with Ryan behind the wheel, and your other step-brother Ben in shotgun.

_'Oh Achilles...what have they done to you? I miss you so much"_ you basked in memories of your beloved car, back to the days when you could drive it whenever and wherever you wanted. Now, your brothers hogged the car so fucking much that you couldn't even get your hands on the keys.

"Hurry up, bitch. Get in the car ASAP." yelled Ryan, and he and Ben looked to one another and smirked evilly.

_'Yeah...that's pretty much code for "Hurry up so we can beat you up quicker" Just great..' _you thought. Getting beat up was a normal routine in your new household according to Ryan and Ben. Why couldn't they just pick on someone their own size?

You took your time walking up to the car, and hesitantly made yourself comfortable once inside.

"So Jade...I hear you totally fucked Ryan over in math today". Ben said with a laugh. "That's a shame, cause that's not what siblings do for one another"

"You're no brother of mine. I fucking hate you" you spat back. Even though you sounded confident, your hands were shaking. There was no way to get used to beatings, especially from 2 fully-grown jackasses.

"Woah woah there, lady. Watch your language. I wasn't going to do anything about the math test, but now i think we need to teach you a lesson on manners." Ryan said.

The car stopped. Your head jerked up, and to your displeasure, you were at "the spot". The spot where they would often take you after school to do their business with you. Your school had a lot of woods around it, and there was a parking lot on the other side of the woods that no one really went to. Perfect for them…not so much for you. Ryan turned off the ignition, and they both turned around so that they were facing you.

"After you, Ms. Hacker." Ryan sneered.

"My name's-"

"You're dad's dead!" Ben yelled "He's fucking dead and you better get used to the fact that our dad's in charge now. Start using his name, bitch!"

You lost your voice. You hated this.

_'I hate my life. I hate my life. I hate my life'_ tears began to brim your stunning green eyes.

"Aww, we made her cry" said Ryan is a sickly sweet tone. "What should we do?" he asked, gesturing to you. Ben smiled. You pressed your back to the seat in anticipation.

"I think we should get this over with." Ben said, and they began to empty their pockets.

But before anyone could act, you did. You didn't want this life anymore, you didn't want to have to deal with this shit day after day along with your parents being totally oblivious to everything going on.

You quickly unbuckled your seatbelt, opened the car door,and slung your backpack over your shoulder. It probably wasn't the best idea...but the only thing you could think of to do in a situation like this was to...

"RUN! She's getting away!!"


	3. Chapter 3: Something About The Stars

You were thanking the high heavens right now for blessing you with the gift of running

You were thanking the high heavens right now for blessing you with the gift of running. It's not like you were super fast or anything, but you were amazed at how you were running through the woods without tripping on any roots or sticks.

You swiftly weaved in and out of the trees, over logs, through leafy branches…as fast and far away as you could from your step-brothers. Your sandals had been long lost in the chase and your feet were beginning to ache from the rough and muddy surface of the woods.

As you passed a rather large thorn bush, a ripping sound indicated that the thorns had taken off quite a bit of your flowy skirt, exposing more of your right leg than you would want. But no matter…it would make running easier.

Your brothers yells could be clearly heard behind you; they consisted of swear words and threats as to how they would get you back for this stunt.

They were getting closer now…it was only a matter of time until you either passed out from exhaustion or were finally tackled by either Ryan or Ben. It seemed somewhat hopeless to keep running. But giving up right now was just not an option.

"_If there is a God…" _you thought, _"then please, help me. What did I do to deserve this?"_

You turned around, only to become more anxious and frightened. They were way too close now.

Turning back around, you noticed a large and magnificent tree in the near distance. It was almost majestic looking to you, the way the sun was hidden behind it and let out a pale yellow aura that surrounded the tree. You ran towards it as if it was your safe haven, and if reaching its trunk would be like reaching base in a game of tag. But then, as you were fantasizing over the tree…something amazing happened.

The tree was moving! No…it was twisting…and splitting?

"_What the hell?"_ you thought. You looked behind you to see if your step-brothers had noticed, but they didn't seem to realize that there was a huge ass tree in front of them twisting and forming a hole in the center.

You anxiously looked back to the tree. It was done twisting and had successfully created a hole in the center of it…kind of like and archway. You didn't know why you wanted to, but you strived to reach the archway and go through it. It seemed as if it was your only hope…and a false hope at that.

Just then, your step-brothers, who were now closer than ever, began to reach out to grab your backpack, since you were now in reaching distance. But you were so close…you were right there!

"_I hate my life."_ You thought, feeling as if all hope was lost.

But suddenly, the roots from the archway tree sprung up as if alive, tripping both you and your stepbrothers. Ryan and Ben both fell short, so close to getting a hold of you.

You, however, tripped right through the archway and disappeared into its depths.

………………………………………………

**Prince Caspian's POV**

Caspian woke with a start, his routine nightmares of his fathers plaguing his dreams. He sat up and wiped the beads of sweat from his face and tried calming down his heavy breathing.

It wasn't one of his usual dreams of his father, where he would imagine the worst possible cases of how he could of died (like getting thrown off a cliff or burning to death). This dream/nightmare seemed more realistic.

His father was sleeping peacefully on his bed, with his beautiful wife beside him. And then, out of the shadows came a dark figure. Caspian strained his memory to try and decipher who the shadowy character was, but all he could remember was black where the person's face should have been.

Figuring it was no use to try to remember, Caspian looked out the window to his bedroom. The sky was beautiful.

He stood from his bed and walked over to the balcony. He surveyed the starry night, intrigued. The sky was still dark, meaning that dawn was no where near. It was probably around 12am or 1am.

Just then, there was a bustling outside his door, and his professor appeared at the doorway. He seemed excited.

"What is it, Professor?" Caspian asked.

"You, my Prince, will be watching the stars tonight!" his Professor said excitedly. "Something amazing has happened!"

Caspian took a final glance to the mysterious stars before grabbing his night cloak and followed his Professor out the door toward the Astronomy tower.

Technically, they weren't supposed to be on the roof balconies of the castle…they weren't really intended for Astronomy. Lord Miraz wouldn't allow it ever since the death of King Caspian. However, Caspian's Professor knew all the secret passages and door ways of the castle; therefore, they would always manage to get up there unharmed and unnoticed.

They entered the Great Dining Hall, which was used for feasts and celebrations. They walked up to the large throne chair where the King would normally sit, and moved the chair over a bit to the side. The Professor lifted up the rug from the floor, revealing a trapdoor.

He opened the latch, and with a final lookout for any soldiers, climbed down the ladder. Caspian followed suit.

Once they reach the bottom, Caspian saw to his right was a staircase, probably leading to their destination. He guess was right.

"You should probably pay more attention to my secret passages, my Prince. They may come in handy someday." His Professor said warningly.

Caspian silently agreed in his head. From now on, he would remember.

The stairs took about 20 minutes to climb, and Caspian was struggling for breath as they finally reached the top. His professor seemed fine and wasn't even out of breath.

"Here we are." He said. Caspian looked in front of him. There, as usual, lay two telescopes, along with his star chart and two sets of ink and quills.

His Professor trudged over to his telescope, and began gazing at the unknown, a wide smile on his face. Clearly, something truly amazing had really happened. From what the Professor had told Caspian in past lessons, the stars and planets told everything: past, present, future. You just had to look closer if you wanted to understand their true meanings.

"What do you see, Professor?" Caspian asked, rather impatiently.

"Have I taught you nothing? Go and see for yourself!" his Professor chided.

Caspian peered through his telescope and scoped out the surrounding sky. He saw many stars and three planets. Something didn't seem right, so he glance at his Spring Sky Chart. Scanning it up and down, he realized that during the springtime, only two planets were supposed to be in view: Mars and Mercury. He looked back into his telescope and trying to identify the mystery planet.

"Professor," he began, "I may be wrong, but it seems like there is an extra planet in view. Which one is it?" he asked.

His Professor looked from his telescope and smile at his appraisingly.

"Very good, my Prince." He said. "There is indeed a lone planet that is off its orbit. They say that some people's destinies are followed by the planets, entwining the chosen souls with history…It seems as if Venus, the delicate lady, has come to reside in the stars of Narnia." He finished. Caspian looked confused.

"And that means…?" Caspian asked.

"It means," the Professor said with a smile, "That we may be having some company."

His words held finality to them. Caspian quickly jotted down some noted with his quill and cleaned up their space. He then thanked his Professor and bid him goodnight, who would most likely be watching the stars all night incase something else happened.

When Caspian reached his bed safe and sound, he could not sleep. Who could be coming? The Kings and Queens of Old perhaps? Maybe Aslan? He did not know.

When he finally fell asleep two hours later, he dreamt of black hair and green eyes.

………………………………………………


	4. Chapter 4: The Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Ok, so this is my first fanfic and I apologize for any mistakes…I'm still getting used to this. Reviews are very much appreciated! They really motivate me to write faster!**

**Anyways, I'm trying to make my chapters longer, so now I'll probably update every 2 days or so. Just let me know how you like the story and how I can improve! And get excited…you meet Caspian this chapter!**

**And just incase you wanted to know, my story is going to be kind of like the second movie, only with a bit more before and after all the battles and such. If things go well and enough people read, I may write a sequel according to later books/movies.**

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 4: The Meeting**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

You fell flat on your face, on the hard cobblestone ground. The spot where Ryan had hit you previously that morning ached, and you longed to return him the favor in various ways.

"_Wait…cobblestone ground?"_

Your head shot up from the ground, a look of disbelief on your face. Your heartbeat was pounding irregularly fast, and you were sure if it was going any faster you would explode.

Your vision showed you a village…somewhat like how villages were portrayed in the olden days. There were dirty cobblestone roads filled with civilians, horse-carriages pulling large bundles of hay, bricks, and food, and vendors of all kinds littering the edges of the roads. You were amazed, and scared at the same time.

You got to your feet and dusted yourself off, taking notice of the large gash in your skirt. Your hands then went subconsciously to your hair, running your fingers through all the leaves and sticks and hastily pulling them out. After you were satisfied with your appearance, you looked around once more.

People were starting to notice you.

"_Shit. Where the hell am I?!"_ You thought.

You turned around, only to be greeted with a thick stone wall. Your backpack lay limply on the ground beside it.

"Now way!" you whispered. You began to pat the wall up and down, searching for who knows what. "Now way! There was a tree here!" you were now yelling. A few gasps behind you told you that the villagers did not approve your odd actions.

"_What the hell! How is this even possible?"_

You put your ear to the wall, in hopes that you would hear your step-brothers on the other side. For once, you actually wanted to hear their voices.

"Ryan! Ben!" you yelled. "Where are you guys!"

The villagers began to whisper with one another. You turned around only to see a huge crowd forming around you, some mothers shielding their children in protecting manners and others calling for the guards.

"_Guards?! As in like…freaks with swords and shit! What did that fucking tree do it me?"_

You turned back to the wall and resorted to pounding your firsts on it. Your long, sleek black hair bounced around your figure wildly as your punches became more violent.

"Open up! You fucking tree! Open up!" the villagers' whispers were now more audible.

"Who is she?"

"I don't know…I've never seen her before."

"Where did she come from?"

"What is she doing?"

"I don't know…hitting the wall?"

"But she just called it a tree. Wait…what is she wearing?"

"Barely anything, apparently. I can see her stomach and legs! How indecent!"

"And what's that thing on the ground?"

"Someone call the-"

As you continued to pound on the wall, you could hear the whispers begin to die out as the sound of hoofs silenced their bickering. You whipped your head around, hair flying as it was caught in the wind. The sea of villagers was now being parted by four horses with soldiers atop them. They weren't wearing armor and didn't seem like they were ready to kill you on the spot, but you were still scared as hell.

And there you stood, stomach pressed against the wall as if you were hugging it while your head was craned in the other direction, staring at the soldiers with the utmost fear. It could be seen in your brilliant green eyes.

The first soldier had curly black hair and a mustache. He didn't look too old you. He lifted his hand to halt the other soldiers on their horses. Apparently they were under his control, maybe he was a commander or something. He stared you up and down, seemingly displeased with your tattered and disheveled appearance.

Said commander then look toward one of his soldiers.

"Go get Miraz." He said with a thick accent.

"_Am I in…England or something?"_

The soldier kicked his horse and fled off in the other direction.

The commander looked back to you.

"You…You're coming with us." He spat. He snapped his fingers, and the remaining to soldiers jumped off their horses, one with rope in hand.

Your heart raced. You slid down the wall and grabbed your backpack, hugging it like a stuffed teddy bear. You watched them approach you, an unwelcoming gleam in your eyes.

"No!" you yelled, trying to stop their advancing. No such use. "Please! You don't understand!"

You stayed in your crouching position, too scared to move. You could try and run away, but that smart idea was what got you here in the first place.

The soldier who wasn't carrying the rope knelt down to your and grabbed you roughly by the upper arm. The action reminded you vaguely of your step-brothers. He swiftly lifted you unwillingly to your feet. You thrashed your arm back and forth, trying to break free. But not such luck. He brought your other arm forward too, and the other guard tied them together.

"No! Listen! I'm not from around here! I…come in peace?" you said, forming the peace sign with one of your hands.

The guard looked at you stupidly before he and his fellow soldier hauled you on top of his horse. He jumped up after, so that you were straddling the horse with him behind you. He put a secure arm around your waist before kicking his horse and riding off past the villagers. The commander led the way while the other two soldiers followed him obediently.

"Make sure she doesn't get free." Said the commander. "She has some explaining to do."

A loud horn could be clearly heard in the background. Probably signaling your appearance, you figured.

You looked of into the distance, ignoring the words of the guards as they conversed amongst one another. What you saw made brought your racing heart to a complete halt. Your jaw dropped…you couldn't believe your eyes. You saw a huge castle!

"_What the hell! Oh God…where am I?" _you though helplessly.

Even though you wanted to close your eyes and have everything disappear, you couldn't deny that the castle was magnificent. It was like being in a fairy tale only better.

"_Beautiful…"_

You watched in amazement as the drawbridge cascaded down, allowing the soldiers to pass.

The castle was even more amazing on the inside. There was a huge courtyard, which consisted of more villagers staring at you in shock. There were so many towers and balconies…filled with soldiers and royalty looking down at the three soldiers who were carrying the mysterious young stranger.

You rode through the courtyard and entered the stall where the horses were kept. You were pulled off your horse and were held onto tightly by the two soldiers, each grasping on of your upper arms.

"Take her to the Throne Room. The Counselors are waiting." Said the commander. The soldiers then led you off to your destination.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

Caspian awoke for the second time from his sleep…however, this time, his dreams weren't in the least haunting. They were pleasurable. Even though he couldn't remember much, the happy feeling still resided in his subconscious.

Straining to remember what happened, he vaguely remembered running through a thicket of thin and friendly trees, their light pink petals dancing around his form and tickling his face. Caspian smiled from the memory.

Looking of his window, he noticed that it was morning at last. Rubbing his eyes, he stood from his bed and began to dress into his normal day attire. But just as he was about to change, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." he called.

In came a soldier with a scroll in his hand. Caspian nodded for him to continue. He unscrolled the parchment and began to read:

"Lord Miraz has called for an immediate meeting in the Throne Room. All Heads of the Counsel must attend, Your Majesty."

"Thank you. I will be there shortly." Caspian nodded to him, signaling for him to leave. Once he did, Caspian threw his casual clothes onto his bed and picked out more appropriate attire for the meeting. He racked his brains for a reason for this untimely meeting.

"… _we may be having some company."_

The words of his professor were clear in his mind and he couldn't help but feel anxious to find out what was going on. True, his professor did warn him that something was coming, but he never said if it was a good or bad thing. What if it was the Kings and Queens of Old? Should he defend them? Or maybe it was something or someone who was dangerous?

But his professor seemed somewhat…excited. Maybe it was a good thing.

Looking in the mirror and approving of his appearance, Prince Caspian fled from his room to go to the meeting, hoping that he would not be too late this time.

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

You were sitting on a large wooden chair in the middle of the magnificent Throne/Meeting Room. Your hands were still tied in front of you and you twiddled your fingers while you waited.

It seemed as if all the Lords of the Land were there…well…almost all. They were all dressed in nice and expensive robes, and they all had disgruntled looks on there faces. All eyes were on you.

You tried to keep your eyes on the ground in order to avoid their stares, but it was hard. The room truly was magnificent and you couldn't help but steal a glance every now and then.

Looking in front of you, you noticed three empty seats…which were probably what everyone was waiting for. The one seat was the most prominent. It was a large and golden throne that was at the head of all the chairs. It was lifted on a platform about five feet above all the others and had a beautiful stained glass window of a king on a horse behind it. That seat obviously belonged to the King.

The other two seats were the two closest seats to the larger throne, and they were on opposite sides of each other, facing each other. You figured that they were the closest subjects to the King or something.

You began to daydream for a few more minutes until the double doors that led to the room opened with a loud bang. Your head snapped up as you noticed a larger man enter. He had short black hair, and it seemed as if he was going bald. He also had a pointed beard and a large nose.

"Lord Miraz." All the other Lords said as they stood up and bowed as he entered. He nodded and they all sat back down.

His eyes loomed onto you, as a hawk eyes its prey. He had very wide eyes, and they narrowed to slits as he observed you. He did not even go to his seat, but instead began to circle you like a tiger. For a split second, you wondered what seat he would sit in. If he was this dominating, then he should and must be the king or something. But his robes were nothing out of the ordinary, so that couldn't be the case.

He then came to a halt in front of you, bending a bit so he was somewhat eye level to you.

You bit your lip in fear. You didn't like this guy. The aura he carried around him was definitely not friendly, and you fear for your life even more…if that was even possible.

"_I'm totally fucked."_

"So…" he began, "What do we have here. Who-"

"My Lord." One of the other Lords said. He was skinny and short. He had curly black hair, almost like a mini afro, and his mustache was curled upwards at both ends. Miraz looked abashed for being interrupted.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, My Lord, but do you not think we should wait for Prince-"

"The Prince," Lord Miraz boomed, "is late! As usual!" The Lord who spoke against Miraz bowed his head in defeat, still not approving of Miraz's actions.

You flinched at his outcry. His voice was malicious and dominating. You hoped he would not use the same tone with you.

"Now…getting back to business," he said calmly as he turned to you, "As you can see, we have an unexpected guest who was found in my village today. She does not belong to any of your villages, does she?" he asked all the other Lords. They shook their heads no, obviously.

"Very well then, it seems as if-"

Your head snapped to the double doors a second time, for they were once again being banged open. This time, however, your eyes did not quiver in fear.

In stepped a handsome young man. He wasn't dressed as fancy as the other Lords, but you could tell he was of some importance. His long brown hair was brushed over his face and he was breathing heavily. It looked like he had run here. Moving his hair from his face, you saw the most beautiful brown eyes you had ever seen. He couldn't be more than a few years older than you. Unlike Miraz's immediate cold stare towards you, the boy merely looked at you with confusion and curiosity. You couldn't help but feel safe as he stared at you. He looked friendly.

"_And amazingly hot."_ You thought as you and the boy stared at each other. But your happy thoughts were then brought to a halt as Miraz's booming voice filled the room once again.

"Ah, Prince Caspian. Finally…you grace us with your presence. Please, take a seat." Lord Miraz's words were coated with bitterness, and you didn't fail to catch how he spoke to the boy with such sarcasm and hatred.

You inwardly sighed as Caspian's gaze tore from yours and resided on Miraz's.

"_So…he's the prince. And if this Miraz guy is his dad, then that means…"_

You feared that Miraz was the King, for if he was, he most surly make sure that you endured the worst kind of punishment. You inwardly shuddered.

The Prince nodded to Miraz apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Uncle." He bowed his head in shame and took his seat. He sat at the chair on the right of the King's throne.

"_Thank God!"_ you thought. _"So Miraz is only the brother of the King…thank God. So that means this Caspian guy has more power over him."_

You watched him as he took his seat. He glanced back at the stained glass window of the King, and then his eyes landed back to you. His eyes held a sense of nostalgia and sadness.

"_But wait…if he's the Prince…then where's his dad? Where's the King?"_

Miraz then retreated to his seat as well, on the left of the throne, where he faced the Prince and looked at him unwillingly. Caspian gave you a final look before he returned his gaze to his uncle.

"Where did you find her?" he asked curiously. His voice was deep and gentle.

"In your village, my Prince." Miraz spat.

The Prince took in his words and you soundlessly waited for you death date to be announced.

"When?" the Prince asked again, now looking back to the window.

"What does it matter?!" Miraz demanded as he slammed his fist on his armrest. "She is not from these parts! She could be a threat!"

"And what threat do you suppose a tiny little girl could have?" The man with the curly mustache said, apparently gaining some sort of confidence due to the appearance of the Prince.

"Just look at how she's dressed!" Miraz said. "Most likely one of…those lot."

The rest of the Lords laughed, all except Prince Caspian.

"Oh Miraz," said another Lord with a humorous laugh, "Do not tell me that this is another meaningless accusation."

"We have had enough of your countless attempts to charge someone on the behalf of them being Narnians." Another said. "They do not exist!"

The room then broke out with similar cries of agreement.

"She does not look different from us."

"She did not harm anyone…she couldn't even defend herself from the guards."

"We are tired of your lies and accusations!"

"What do you think, Prince Caspian?"

You looked back to the young man, who had been silent throughout the whole debate. His eyes passed over yours before they went to his Uncle.

"She is obviously not from around here," he began, "but that does not mean at all that she is a threat. She is a guest, therefore, should be treated as such-"

"She appeared out of nowhere!" Miraz yelled. "The villagers said so! She appeared out of a wall! Such is the doings of magic! Sorcery! Narnian! She should be sentenced to death!"

As his voice echoed throughout the room, you began to shake.

"_Death…oh God…I'm going to die!"_

You green eyes began to brim with tears, and you couldn't help your involuntary shaking. You did not want to cry in front of everyone, you wouldn't. But you couldn't stop the choked sob that escaped your lips. All eyes were on you again. Prince Caspian shot up from his seat.

"Nonsense." He said. "She will be our guest in the castle. She has done nothing wrong. No such penalties will be administered." His words seemed to please all the Lords except Miraz. "I will question her myself tomorrow on here whereabouts."

"The villagers…they imagine things." The lord with the curly mustache said. "I agree with Prince Caspian. All in favor…"

All hands rose except one, Lord Miraz. His face was scrunched into a nasty snarl, and once he observed that everyone was against him, he stormed from the room, with the commander from before in toe.

"Meeting Adjourned." Miraz grumbled before he slammed the doors behind him.

One by one, the other Lords began to leave the room, shaking Prince Caspian's hand as they went and shooting you apologetic looks.

You leaned back into your chair, and let out a sign of relief. You closed your eyes as you began to calm down your beating heart.

When you opened your eyes, Prince Caspian was standing before you. He knelt down and untied your hands, clasping them in his warm ones once they were untied. He looked up at you.

"I apologize for my Uncle. He can be ruthless a times." He said.

"Really," you said sarcastically, "Just at times?" Caspian laughed, hands still clasped around yours.

"I apologize again. I did not mean for you to go through that." He said with a smile. "Sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

He helped you stand up from your seat. You head barely reached up to his chin.

"My name's Jade." You said tentatively. "Listen, I'm not-" You were interrupted as Caspian hushed you, placing his hands on your shoulders.

"I know, I know. You don't seem dangerous, and you must have an explanation. But you look tired. You can rest up and tell me everything tomorrow." He said in his gentle voice. You were not going to argue.

"Alright, thank you." You said, stressing the 'thank you'. "I was scared for a second. I thought I was going to die."

"Don't worry about it. Come with me, I'll show you your room." He held out his hand to you, and you graciously took it. He led you to his room in silence.

You were relieved that you would be safe, but were still concerned as to where the hell you were and what was going to happen to you in this place.

"_What have I gotten myself into?"_

**Ok thanks for reading everyone! I hope you liked it. **

**Next Chapter will be up either tomorrow or Monday! Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Professor's Warning

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Ok so here's the next chapter! And like I said before, reviews are very much appreciated! Next Chapter may not be out until Wednesday or Thursday. **

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 5: The Professor's Warning**

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**Both POVs**

You couldn't wait to get to bed. After the events of today, even though it wasn't that late, you still just wanted to sleep.

Caspian led you down so many different hallways, all adorned with magnificent rugs and knights of armor. Torches lined the walls, and there were framed pictures of previous Kings and Queens. The castle was made out of stone, and a few of the darker hallways kind of creeped you out, but you still gawked at your surroundings in disbelief. You were so amazed. It was like being in the movies.

"_Check it out…I'm in Hogwarts! Haha!"_ you thought as you let out a snort. Caspian turned on you.

"Are you laughing at me?" He asked with a bemused expression.

"_God his accent is so hot!"_

"No! No, it's just that…well…nevermind." You said finally. You couldn't think of how to explain yourself to Caspian, so you just decided to let it go.

"It's just…something from my…" you trailed off. Caspian stopped walking, waiting for you to continue. "…something from my…home."

Everything came back to you so suddenly. All the events from this morning began to sink into your system and register: your sister crying, the boys torturing your cat, Ryan being a jackass, promising your sister a new home, the math test, the car ride, Ryan and Ben being jackasses again, getting slapped, running away, getting chased, the tree, your step-brothers shouts, the archway and then…

You froze in your place. You couldn't breathe. You had to breathe, but you didn't want to. You just wanted to sleep. Your heavy eyelids forced you to close your eyes. That's right…fall asleep and then you'd wake up from this dream…even if you would awake to Ryan's dull brown eyes instead of Caspian's beautiful ones. But that didn't matter at the moment. If you fell asleep, everything would be better. If you fell asleep, you wouldn't be in this predicament. If you fell asleep, you may never see this place again.

"_Wait…is that really what I want?"_

Your last thoughts were clouded as your body grew limp and you fainted on the spot. Caspian caught you on the spot before you fell, and he carried you the rest of the way to your room bridal style.

Caspian walked the rest of the way to the room in silence, giving him some time to think to himself.

"_I wonder where she is from."_ He thought. _"Is she the 'company' my Professor spoke of? If so…why is she here? And what am I supposed to do with her?"_

Caspian reach the room at last and placed you on your bed. He made sure that your room was only down the hall, that way you could find him easily if you needed anything. He pulled the covers over your small form and brushed your hair out of your face. He stared down at you with a smile.

"_Well, whoever she may be, one thing is for certain. She's beautiful. But she looks exhausted. I should leave." _And with that last thought, Caspian silently left the room in search of his Professor.

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**Caspian's POV**

Caspian sprinted straight to his Professor's study. He needed to tell his Professor about Jade and there were so many questions he wanted to ask.

He opened the door to reveal his Professor sitting in his armchair, spectacles brimming his nose as he read a book. His eyes never left the book.

"Professor," Caspian called, "a girl appeared in the village this morning." The Professor didn't even flinch, as if what Caspian said was old new.

"Really, now. That is indeed interesting." He said, almost uninterested.

"According to the villagers, she appeared out of nowhere. No one knows who she is or where she is from." The Prince said, hoping to gain his professor's attention. Still no response.

"Professor!" he said urgently. At this, his professor finally looked up at him. "Please, Professor, I do not know what to do. Tell me, why is she here? Does it have to do with Venus being off its orbit?" he asked desperately.

His Professor took off his spectacles and signed. He placed the book on his desk and stood up, striding towards his confused student.

He looked Caspian hard in the eye. "I am in the same predicament, my Prince." He brushed past Caspian, making his way towards the window.

"Impossible. You knew she was coming. You know more than I do, and I need your help. Tell me everything you know." Caspian continued to plead.

"I knew _something_ was coming. I never knew who or what." He defended. "Besides, I could never imagine knowing what significance she holds for the future. Such are the doings of Old Magic, magic that has not been seen for 1300 years. Magic that was used in the times of the Kings and Queens of Old, and of the mighty Aslan." He strode away from the window and went back to his seat, head in his hands. "I am sorry, my Prince.  
There is nothing more I can tell you of this girl. I do not know who she is, where she came from, or for what purpose she was called. But, although her purpose is unclear at the time being, what I know for sure is that she holds great significance to the future of Narnia. I do not trust her in the hands of your fellow Talmarine Lords, especially your Uncle. Keep her away from them at all costs, and don't you dare give her reason to mistrust you. Do not let her out of your sight!"

"I will watch over her, I promise." He said.

"I apologize again, my Prince. She is not exactly what I expected." His Professor said.

"Yeah…" Caspian said, almost dreamily, "me either…"

Caspian nodded his head in respect and understanding for his Professor. He was about to leave when he saw his Professor pick up his book up and continue to read.

"Professor…if you don't mind me asking…what are you reading?" Caspian asked.

His Professor finally smiled. "Oh, just some old folk tales of Narnia. Once I have found what I am looking for, I will call for another night lesson immediately."

"I will be waiting." Caspian said before he disappeared behind the wooden door of his Professor's study.

……………………………………………………………………

His Professor's warning constantly repeated itself in his head as Caspian marched back to your room, as if he needed reminding that you were still there, safe and sound.

Thankfully, there were no guards around the entrance or hallway to your room, and Caspian made a mental note to himself to keep the location of your room a secret for as long as he could.

He silently cracked the door open enough for him to peer inside and see that you were still fast asleep. Smiling in satisfaction, he locked the door from the outside and slipped the only key to unlock your room in his pocket, willing to protect it will all his being. Still aware that no one was watching, Caspian took this chance to leave the area unnoticed.

……………………………………………………………………

**You POV**

You awoke the next day in goods spirits, the dreamless you had being exactly what your body and mind needed. However, unfortunately, you did not wake up to your younger sister crawling into your bed to wake you up, or the mewing of your cat to be fed. You didn't hear your step-brothers bickering amongst themselves, or even your parents having a light conversation in their bedroom beside yours as they both got ready for work. There was nothing…you were alone in a strange room, and you certainly were not home. You sat up in bed and looked around your room.

It was a plain room; there was a large queen sized bed, a night table beside the bed, a wardrobe, a mirror beside the wardrobe, and two double doors that led to a balcony or something. There were two other doors, one obviously leading to the hallway, and the other to who knows where. A beautiful rug adorned the floor, bringing some warmth to the cold stone room. But other than that, there were no friendly looking pictures or ornaments decorating your room. It was plain and simple. Much unlike your room back at home.

"_Ok…so…where the fuck am I again?"_

You got up from your bed and made your way over to the wardrobe, opening it to reveal a set of clothes you believe had been picked out for you.

You looked down at yourself to see that you were still wearing your dirty and tattered clothes from yesterday morning. You desperately needed a change.

"_And a shower."_ You thought.

Unfolding your new clothes, you realized that whoever had picked them out clearly had no idea of 21st century fashion. The clothes weren't hideous, it was just that…

"I am NOT wearing a dress" you said to yourself, holding the garment as far away from you as you could. You stared at it a few moments longer before you heard the trotting of horses through the double doors. You laid the dress on the bed and headed for the balcony.

Opening the doors, the view took your breathe away. You could see for miles! The view was so awesome! There were mountains and woods, and rivers that seemed to run throughout the land. You reach the balcony ledge and peered over below. You could see the village where you were found and the massive courtyard in the middle of the castle. And indeed, there were guards on horses, running in and out of they courtyard, waving to the villagers as they did.

You folded your arms on the ledge and rested your chin on them, contemplating everything.

"_So, I'm definitely not in America anymore…that's for sure."_ You could hear the distant laughter and bickering from the villagers below. "_And I don't think I'm anywhere near home at that. Hell…I don't even think I'm in the same time period. I wonder why everything-"_

"Enjoying your view?" you heard someone call from your left. Lifting your head and straightening up, you turned to see Caspian on a similar balcony a few windows down from yours. He was clad in his night clothes, and his hair was a bit messy. You stared at him, and back to the scenery. You did not reply. He took this as a 'yes' and a sign to speak again.

"I wake up to it every morning, and still I'm amazed every time. You should see it during the night, with all the stars." He said. Still, you didn't reply. You were never confident around boys in general, and although Caspian was trying to be friendly, he was still a stranger to you in this foreign land.

"I'll keep that in mind." You said, finding your voice. Caspian smiled triumphantly, apparently glad that you finally decided to speak to him. He inspected your old clothes that you were still wearing.

"You know, I brought you new clothes to wear. They're in your wardrobe. I figured you might want to change out of…those." He said, indicating your now pathetic excuse for a skirt.

"Yes, I know, I saw them. It's just…" you explained, trying not to offend him or his way of dressing, "It's just that, where I'm from…the girls don't exactly where dresses around the house all day."

Surprisingly, by the look Caspian gave you, it seemed as if he understood.

"I expected that. But, at the moment, it is all I have to offer. I'm sorry, maybe today you can accompany me down to the village, and we can try to find you something more suitable for your taste?" he asked almost tentatively. You caught the nervousness in his voice, but decided to dismiss the thought. Come to think of it, the air of your conversation was very tense and uneasy. You stayed quite for a bit, processing what he just asked you.

"Umm…yeah, sure. Sounds great." You said. Caspian let a small smile escape his lips.

"Alright then, I will show you the whole kingdom too. I am certain you will be amazed." He stepped away from balcony, and turned to go back into his room. He felt as though you needed some time to yourself.

"Wait!" you called back. He turned to you, his hand still lingering on the doorknob. "I need a shower." You said a bit too abruptly.

Caspian stared at you for a moment before he broke out into laughter; the awkwardness of the previous conversation was lost as you began to laugh too, realizing how stupid your statement was.

It was a few moments before the two of your finally caught your breath.

"Alright, alright." Caspian said as he calmed down. However, the bright smile never left him face. "I'll bring you some towels and soap. There is a bathroom in your room. It's the door to the right of the wardrobe." He said.

He was about to leave again but you called him back once more.

"Wait! Umm…sorry, again, but I just-"

"Don't tell me…you have to go to the bathroom?" he said amusedly. This made you smile for the first time today.

"Ha ha, no." you said. "I just wanted to say…umm…thank you…for everything. For standing up for me yesterday and treating me as a guest. I just, have no idea where I am and I'm so glad that-"

He interrupted you once more. "Tell me everything when we go for our walk." He smiled at you once more, before disappearing into his room.

You lingered on the balcony a while longer until you heard a knock on your door.

"It's me, Caspian." You heard him faintly call. Taking one last look at the scenery, you left the balcony to go answer the door.

And there he stood, beautiful as always, with a towel in one arm and a bucket of toiletries in the other. His beautiful brown eyes bore into yours, and you became a bit nervous. He was almost as close to you as he had been yesterday, and you couldn't help but feel a pang of excitement and anxiety rise in your chest. He handed them to you and you took them graciously, laying them on your bed beside your dress.

"I will come back here in an hour. Is that alright." You nodded, trying not to make eye contact with him, else you might faint. He truly was amazingly hot, especially close up.

"Alright, I will see you then. But, listen to me carefully." He said in a warning tone which forced you to look up at him. "You have seen what my Uncle is like, and there are many more of his kinds. For your own safety, I beg you, please do not leave the room unless you are with me. Do not wander the hallways at night and by all means, do not leave the castle grounds. You are safe with me, so please don't try to escape." He grasped your hands and covered them with his in a protecting manner. "There are some men in this kingdom that I do not trust. Believe me, I want to help you. If you should ever need me, go out onto the balcony and whistle. I have a pet raven in my room, and she will find me immediately."

You nodded in understanding. You couldn't help but feel safe with Prince Caspian on your side.

"But, if anything were to happen…" he said as he knelt down, letting go of your hands. He lifted the rug off the floor to reveal a trapdoor. He opened the latch, and you peered inside to see a small crawl space big enough for about four people to fit inside. "Hide in here."

"I will." You spoke this time, trying to assure him that you were listening to him and would take his words seriously. "I understand, Caspian. Thank you so much. I trust you." How could you not? He looked so innocent and his eyes held so much concern in them.

He lifted himself up, dusting off his clothes and looked at you once more.

"Alright then…good. I shall see you in an hour." He said, and then he was gone.

You contemplated everything he said and all the warnings he gave as you stripped off your dirty clothes to take a much needed bath.

"_I should be extra careful."_ You thought. _"I'm in totally different place now…and I already have enemies! Just great. Oh well…at least I have Caspian."_

As you listened to the running water though, you couldn't help as a sort of…excitement shot through your system. True…you were in a totally different place, probably thousands of miles away from home with no idea as to how you got here, but that didn't mean you couldn't enjoy your little 'vacation' while it lasted. No school…no jackass step-brothers, no parents…no nothing. You could finally lay back and enjoy yourself. All your thoughts seemed to slip away as you sunk into the bathtub, allowing the cool and refreshing water to clear your mind.

**Ok so there you go! What did you think? **

**Please write me some good reviews…they are a HUGE help!**

**And like I said before, chapter 6 will be out Wednesday or Thursday.**

**Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Only Thing That Matters

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Ok…so I know I said I wouldn't update till Wednesday or Thursday, but I got back late tonight and thought I'd check my stats and wow! Over 700 hits! Plus I got a few more reviews…which made me really happy. So I decided I'd a write the chapter now before I go to bed because I was so happy!**

**So now Chapter 7 won't be out until Thursday. **

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 6: The Only Thing That Matters**

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**Your POV**

Even though you hated to admit it, you loved the dress Prince Caspian picked out for you. Never in a million years would you give this dress a chance or try it on if you saw it in a store or something, but taking a closer look at yourself in it, you even considered wearing it to your Senior Prom.

It was dark green…matching your eyes perfectly. You always looked good in green due to that hereditary trait of yours, but never had your eyes come this much in handy. You were also very grateful that the dress was thin and light, so breathing wouldn't be a problem. You detested poofy dresses where you could barely breathe and any attempt at physical activity (such as dancing) would render you breathless and sweaty. No…this dress wasn't like them at all. It was quite comfortable. It was perfect.

The sleeves were long and tight, shaping your slender arms perfectly. The dress had a square-shaped neck line that had a golden trim on the edge. The torso hugged your curves as well, and instead of poofing out at the bottom, the rest of your dress simply flowed down your legs, not too tight and not too loose. The dress was the same color green except for the torso part, where there were golden flower designs that wrapped around that part of the dress. **(To get an idea of what your dress looks like, picture Princess Fiona's dress from the first Shrek movie. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google image it. I love that dress, it's so pretty! Anyways, back to the story!)**

You left your hair down, as always, your bangs just barely above your eyes, and the neckline of the dress portraying your collar bone perfectly. You made a mental note to yourself to wear green more often.

Looking into the mirror, you were pleased with your appearance. You never had the time to really dress up, and this, even though it was a bit odd, was a nice change. Now all you had to do was wait for Caspian to arrive. You looked up at the clock, **(Did they have clocks back then? I'm not sure…but let's just say they did.)** and saw that you still had ten minutes left until he arrived. While you waited, you sat patiently on your bed, thinking about what you would tell Caspian on your walk.

……………………………………………………………………

It was not long until you heard a light rapping on your door. You stood up immediately and peered through the eyehole, taking heed to Caspian's warning an hour ago. Seeing that it was only Caspian, you knew it was safe to open the door.

And once you did, you almost melted on the spot. Forget about men in uniforms being hot, men in armor were even hotter! From his form fitting protective vest, down to the sword that hung loosely on his belt, he was the true definition of a knight in shining armor. His hair, for once, was neatly combed back to the sides, but was still a bit messy. And his eyes…his beautiful dark brown eyes shown with happiness and excitement, you could tell.

Caspian took a step back to get a better look at you. He seemed pleased, and smiled.

"Wow…" he said as he looked into your eyes, "I never knew anyone could wear my mother's old clothes so well…you look beautiful, Jade."

Your cheeks tinted pink, and you hoped that Caspian didn't notice. "Thanks. Your mother doesn't mind I'm wearing them?"

His eyes seemed to soften a bit from your words and he tore his eyes away from yours. "No…I don't think she would, at least."

"What do you mean?" you asked. You could tell that your words touched a sore spot, but you had no idea why.

He held out his hand to you. "Come with me, and I'll explain everything…and then you can as well."

……………………………………………………………………

**Both POVs**

You and Caspian found yourselves at the edge of a river, sitting on the grassy plains of its bank. He had taken you through his village, however, you found it very uncomfortable walking through the crowds of people who had seen you the previous day. They still did not seem to trust you and gave you disapproving stares. Caspian, sensing your uneasiness, had resorted to taking you to a more quiet and peaceful area where you could both tell each other your stories.

As you lay out on the grass enjoying the sun's rays, you figured it was your duty to start the conversation.

"So…" you began, "tell me about your mother."

Caspian seemed a bit reluctant to answer. It was always hard for him to recall memories of the past when his family had been happy and, well…alive. It crushed his spirit and never succeeded in putting him in a damper mood.

"_Why must I always be reminded of the things I lost and will never get back."_ He thought helplessly.

"Well," he said with a sign, "for one thing…she's dead."

You wanted to slap yourself for asking him such a nostalgic question. How could you be so inconsiderate? You didn't even consider the fact that the reason he did not want to talk about his mother was because something tragic happened. You mentally smacked yourself for not taking the situation seriously.

"Oh…Caspian…I'm so sorry! I had no idea…when did this happen." You asked, trying to word your questions more carefully.

Caspian looked up to the sky as if in deep thought. "Well…she died about three years ago…right after my father."

"What!?" you shrieked. You were amazed at how calm and Caspian was being after he had just recounted the deaths of the two most important people in his life. You felt even worse and wished that you did not even start this conversation. The way you saw it…it would only get worse from here. "Oh Caspian…" you had no idea what to say, you had never been in such a situation before.

"I'm alright, don't worry." He reassured you. "I've lived and learned to accept it. I can't change what happened." You felt so sorry for him. You wanted to run your fingers through his long brown hair and tell him everything was alright, but you would not dare envelop him with such lies and false senses of hope.

"What happened?" you asked in almost a whisper.

"Well…it was said that my father died in his sleep. Whether it was murder, sickness, no one is for sure. I, for one, haven't a clue. All I remember is waking up to my mother's screams in the early morning." He paused for a moment and you noticed his eyes glaze up a bit. You reached out to hold his hand, and that seemed to give him the strength to continue. "My mother…she died a few weeks later…she could not bear to live without my father."

Whether his mother committed suicide or died of other causes, you did not care. You did not wish to press the issue any further; Caspian did not seem to enjoy recalling all these memories and you understood him perfectly.

"I know how you feel. You're not alone." This seemed to catch Caspian's attention, because he was staring into your eyes once more, his brown eyes begging you to continue. "My father died when I was six. You see…him and my mom would get into fights all the time. It was horrible, especially when they would do it at night when I was trying to sleep. I had always thought they loved each other…but anyways, one night my father had been drinking way too much. This, of course, made my mom angry and they got into another one of their fights. My father shouted something about leaving and staying over a friend's house for the night…and well…that was the last time we saw him alive." You finished. You decided to leave out the part that he had died in a car accident because he was driving under the influence, because you figured he would have no idea what a car was.

Caspian was now squeezing your hand, taking in the fact that you both had something special in common.

"Be thankful, at least your parents loved each other." You said. "My mother re-married a jackass…with three added bonuses." You decided that this was the best time to tell Caspian about what happened to you…how you got here and who you really were. Caspian never once interrupted you. He needed to know everything; he wanted to know more about you. Throughout your whole story, his eyes never left yours, and you found it much easier to open up to him.

"Well, as you can obviously tell…I'm not from around here at all. In fact, the people from my home would consider this place to be in a whole new time period…almost like a whole new world. I have no idea where I am or how I got here. You see…it all happened when I was running away from my two step-brothers. They're both insufferable idiots who have nothing better to do than torture my cat and beat me up for nothing. So I was running away in the woods, and all of a sudden this huge tree began to twist and split in two. I had no idea what was going on, but I kept on running anyways. And the next thing I knew, I had tripped over a root and through the tree and…here I am. I have no idea what happened and I haven't a clue how to get back home. This may all seem ridiculous, but I swear…I'm telling the truth."

It's not that Caspian didn't want to say anything; it's just that he couldn't say anything. Your story seemed near impossible…

"…_and wait…did she mention something about people beating her up?" _

He inwardly growled at the thought.

"I'm sorry to be a burden." You said, noticing that Caspian was still thinking to himself. "I didn't mean for this to happen, and I feel horrible dragging you into my problem." Caspian flinched at this comment.

"Nonsense." He said as he continued to look in your eyes. He seemed determined. "I don't consider you a burden at all. I'm actually…glad you came."

You could feel your cheeks start to flush, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the sunny weather.

"R-Really? You're glad?" you asked. He smiled, noticing your discomfort…and your blush.

"Yes, very. The only person I can really trust these days is my Professor, and I usually only see him a few times a week. It's nice to have someone such as yourself as company." He said. His words meant the world to you. True, you had been in the same boat back home. With your parents and step-brothers constantly bringing you down, your sister was the only real person you could turn to…all your old friends being miles and miles away. But even though you loved your sister's company more than anything, she was still only six…a mere child who would not be able to listen to you talk and understand your problems. She was far too young.

"Thanks, Caspian," you said smiling, feeling a warm sensation take over your body, "I enjoy your company as well. Thanks so much for listening and understanding. It means more to me than you know."

You weren't sure what came over you. Maybe it was digging way down deep into your past and unveiling memories that you would rather keep hidden, maybe it was realizing that you may have finally met a friend whom you could tell your problems to and trust (and who enjoyed your company as well), or maybe it was the fact that you thought of your sister and the promise you made here- how were you supposed to keep your promise now?

You did not expect your vision to blur as your eyes swelled up nor did you expect to feel wet tears cascading down your cheeks. You did not expect to cry; you did not want to cry. You had tried so hard so many times not to cry when Ryan and Ben would yell at you or beat you up, and you felt so weak not being able to control your tears after being though all that.

And then hands were snaking around your waist, pulling you into a hard chest as arms wrapped themselves around your figure ever so tightly. Your head was buried into the crook of a neck…letting your tears spill onto that part of flesh. There were fingers running through your hair, trying to ease your ragged breathes. There were whispers in your ears, lips so close that you could feel the hot breathe travel in your ears, giving you involuntary chills.

And there you were. In Caspian's arms, crying your eyes out for everything that was and everything that wasn't. For everything that was lost and for everything that was to be discovered. You cried for joy, for relief, for hatred, for loss. You cried for your father's death, for your sister whom you abandoned, for your new accursed life and family….and then, you cried for finding a place where you could be anyone you wanted, for being away from everything that had made your life a living hell, and for meeting Caspian, the first person in awhile to befriend you and actually acknowledge that you had feelings.

"Please…don't cry." Caspian pleaded. He pulled you away from his warm chest and inspected your tear-stained face. With gentle hands, he tucked the strands of hair that were matted to your face behind your ears. "Don't worry, Jade, I'll take care of you…I promise. And I want to help you, I really do. I'll find you a way back home…don't worry, just…don't cry."

Your breaths were still ragged, and you could not find your voice. You were sure you would choke on your sobs if you attempted speech. Caspian seemed to understand…as usual.

"Come on, let's go get you some clothes and something to eat. Don't think about it." He cooed. His voice was soft and comforting, and all you wanted to do was listen to his silky voice. You didn't care what you did or where you went, the only thing that mattered was that you were with Caspian.

**Aww how cute!**

**I would like to thanks you guys again for all the nice reviews and motivation to keep updating. It really means a lot…please keep it up!**

**So I hope you enjoyed this surprise update and I will see you again on Thursday!**


	7. Chapter 7: Secrets Overheard

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Ok so I obviously can't help but keep updating! I knew I said this would be up by Thursday, but I had the idea all set in my head and couldn't help but write it down. **

**I am, as ususal, very grateful for all the reviews you guys send me. They are very helpful. However, I did get some reviews asking me to change the point of view from second person to third person. The whole point of the story is to envision yourself in Jade's shoes, so I figured I would use the second person. However, let me know if it's bugging you and if enough people reply I'll change to third person. Just let me know!**

**Next chapter will be up Sunday AT THE LATEST. **

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7: Secrets Overheard**

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**Your POV**

You finally had someone you could trust in this new world. Nothing else seemed to matter. To hell with Lord Miraz and all his evil minions. You had Caspian, and you felt that he was all that you needed.

Remembering your conversation with him the previous day, you recalled him mentioning a Professor of some sorts. Whoever he was, Caspian trusted him, and you were eager to meet him.

After you and Caspian had picked out some close to normal clothes for you, he let you retreat back to your room for the day. You had been crying your eyes out on his should, after all, and he probably didn't know what to do. But you didn't care. You would have preferred to stay in his company, but it was nice to be alone with your thoughts for awhile- even if they were not very comforting thoughts.

It was early evening now, and you had not seen Caspian since. He wasn't even on the balcony when you went out on it late last night, in hopes that he would be there. Now, you were already showered and dressed and were bored out of your mind.

You were lying on your bed, deep in thought, until you heard a knock on the door. Eager to see Caspian (or anyone at this point) you rushed over to the door and pulled it open after looking through the eyehole to make sure it was him.

"Hey!" You greeted excitedly, anxious to finally get out of your room.

"Good evening." He said.

He was in his usual warrior outfit, looking good as always. But what caught your eye was your backpack dangling from his hand.

"My backpack! You got it back! I totally forgot about it." you said as he handed it back to you.

"Yeah. I saw my Uncle with it this morning…he had said it was yours and he wanted to keep it for 'evidence'. But I thought that you might need it, so I got it back for you…not without a fight, of course." He said.

"Thanks! You were right!" you said as you plopped your backpack on your bed and began to dig inside it.

"_If my cellphone is still in here, then I'll be able to call home!" _You thought excitedly as you rummaged through all your books. You gasped when you caught sight of it, snatching it out quickly.

You turned to Caspian. "You see…where I'm from, there are these things called phones." You began. Caspian looked confused already. "In my world…or time…people use cellphones to call each other and talk to them if they are too far away. For example…umm…it's kind of like your raven, only quicker and easier." Caspian still didn't seem to understand.

You moved a bit closer to him and held the phone out to him. "You see, it works like this…" you flipped the phone open and Caspian flinched at the sudden motion. You giggled as he eyed your device dangerously. "And then…you type in the number that you want to call." You said with a smile, motioning to the keypad.

However, your smile was short lived, for when you turned the phone around to yourself to punch in the numbers…you noticed that your phone was completely dead.

"What the…no way! My battery was full." You said.

"_Umm…hello? New world…new time. Good luck finding service anywhere…"_

Caspian peered over your shoulder. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Yeah…it died. Now I can't call home." You said downtrodden.

"_Yeah… and even if you could call home, what would you say? 'Oh, hey mom! Yeah…by the way, I'm in a different world. Oh no, I'm fine, I got here through a tree. So yeah, can you like find another tree that opens and come get me? That would be great.'"_ You thought sarcastically.

"It died? As in…it used to be alive?" Caspian asked. If you weren't so upset, you would have laughed.

"_What's the big deal? Don't tell me you're eager to be reunited with your dear, dear brothers." _yeah…you were talking to yourself.

"No…it runs off electricity." You replied.

"Pardon?" Caspian was beyond lost at this point, but you were too busy listening to yourself to laugh at his confused questions and expressions. His voice was like white noise in the background.

"_Ok, so you've got your own room with a perfect view, you're in Harry Potter's castle, and you've got a hot Prince right down the hall. And you want to go home because…? Just relax for once."_

"You know, electricity…oh wait, no, you don't know…umm, nevermind. I'll explain it to you later." You said, trying to bring your attention back to Caspian, who was now curiously looking through your backpack.

"_You're happy; it's obvious…even if it is a little creepy and weird. You like being with Caspian here, so quit trying to rush home when you know you're going to regret leaving so soon."_

"Physics?" Caspian questioned aloud, reading the title of one of your books. You turned to him, fully convinced after your conversation with yourself.

"Yeah, Physics. It's one of my classes at school. I have Professors too, but they aren't as personal as yours." You said, taking the book back from him and flipping through the pages.

"…_At least I don't have to do the homework…that's a plus."_

Caspian's face seemed to light up at your comment.

"I almost forgot…my Professor has called for a lesson tonight. They're very interesting. He usually tells me old folktales of a magical land or sometimes we gaze at the stars. It's fascinating! I'd love it if you joined me tonight." He said enthusiastically. "He said that tonight's lesson is very important, and you are welcome to come if you want." You beamed at him.

"I'd love to join you." You said. Caspian mirrored your smile.

The two of you just stood there; staring in each other's eyes, smiling. You bit your bottom lip, unsure of what to say. The minutes seemed like hours…but you preferred it that way.

"I'll come back later tonight." He said at last.

Your smile faded a bit. "You mean you're leaving?" you asked, not wanting to be bored and alone anymore.

"I'm sorry…The Counsel's weekly meeting is tonight. I have to go. Believe me though, I'd rather stay here. The weekly meeting is just for updates and stuff from all the villages…you know…crime problems, livestock, death tolls, stuff like that. It's rather boring." He said apologetically.

"It's ok. I understand. I'll be waiting here." You said.

"Alright then. I'll be back later tonight." He said. Bending down, he lightly kissed your forehead before leaving the room.

You didn't move a muscle until the clicking of his heels as he walked down the hallway could not be heard any more.

……………………………………………………………………

You were resting on your bed, reading the copy of Pride and Prejudice that you found in your backpack. Unlike everyone else in your English class who despised any form of reading, you actually enjoyed the company of a good book. You wouldn't be going to English class anytime soon, so you would just have to read the rest of the book by yourself.

However, you couldn't stand any noise at all while you were reading. You needed complete silence. That's why you kept shooting dirty looks toward the door as you heard muffled voices a little bit down the hall.

You couldn't help but comprehend a word here and there as they talked, they weren't exactly whispering. You didn't mean to be 'eavesdropping' per say, you just were trying to concentrate on your book.

"…child…Caspian…kill…" your head shot up almost instantly. That voice burned into your memory, no one had sounded as vile to you as Lord Miraz had.

"_Ok…any phrase that has 'Caspian' and 'kill' in the same sentence can't be good."_ You thought worriedly.

You place your book back on your bed and crept to the door. You were about to push it open when Caspian's warning rang in your head.

"_For your own safety, I beg you, please do not leave the room unless you are with me."_

You didn't want to disobey him; he was only trying to help you. You knew you probably should have listened to him, but your concern for Caspian and your curiosity got the better of you as you opened the door as quietly as possible.

Creaking it open barely an inch, you were able to locate the voice. You popped your head out and saw that the coast was clear.

Now that your figure was completely outside the door, you looked to your left, the source of the voices. The end of the hallway, which was nearby, was a corner and turned a left at the end. You could see the shadows of two figures spill across the floor from where the torches hung on the walls.

It was then that you realized how dark it was, it must be very late.

"_Do not wander the hallways at night and by all means, do not leave the castle grounds"_ you shook your head, dismissing it of Caspian's words_. _

You tip-toed down the hallway, as quiet as a mouse. You walked halfway down the hallway and figured you were close enough, fearing that if you went any further you may be spotted. You listened as Lord Miraz and his mysterious accomplice talked amongst each other.

"I will not turn the other cheek on such an opportunity, Commander **(I have no idea what his name is, he was the guy that walked through the tree first at the end of the movie…does anyone know his name?)**. I am determined…I have been for three years." said Lord Miraz.

"I know…I know you too well, my Lord." Your ears perked up, the other guy was the commander who found you. "I just fear how the other Lords will react. They still have not forgotten the death of King Caspian." Miraz chuckled, causing chills to run up and down your body.

"Do you not think I have thought this plan through? I know what I am doing." He said confidently. "Keeping that girl around may not have been such a bad idea after all…" you began to shiver.

"Are you suggesting that we use the girl? Frame her, perhaps?" asked the Commander in a serious tone.

"_Frame me? For what?!" _you thought frantically.

"Precisely." Said lord Miraz. "The Lords will have no choice but to see it my way. I will have them completely under my wing. Once they see that the girl is capable of murder, they will most certainly want to sentence her to death. It will be like killing two birds with one stone."

You jumped at his words, causing you to lose your balance and slip. Although you didn't make much noise, it was dead quite in the hallway- save for their voices- and they would be sure to notice such a disturbance.

Without looking back, you picked yourself up and sprinted to your room.

"What was that?" you heard Lord Miraz demand, but it was too late. By the time they rounded the corner, you were already shut in your room, ready to lift the rug to the safety hole any second.

You had your hand on the latch as you heard footsteps moving swiftly down the hallway, prepared to hide if they barged into your room.

However, to your surprise, the footsteps moved past your room and traveled down the hallway a bit further. You listened as they came to a halt, only to be followed by violent knocking on another door.

You heard the door opened almost instantly.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"_Caspian! Oh no! Did I get him in trouble?" _you thought as his silky voice traveled down the hallway and through the crack on the bottom of your door. You pressed your ear to the door, listening intently to the whole conversation.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

"What seems to be the problem?" Caspian asked, as he opened the door.

Lord Miraz stared at his dripping wet body, clad in only a towel that hung around his waist. Caspian has just come out of the shower, and was a bit annoyed to be called out when he would rather be relaxing.

"Nothing…apparently." Lord Miraz said, relieved that it was not Caspian would had overheard his conversation. He still, however, was suspicious as to what he heard. "I thought I heard a rat." He spat.

Caspian was amused. "Well just call on me next time you see one, I understand if you're too afraid to deal with it yourself." He joked. Miraz did not seem to share his sense of humor, and his face turned a deep red.

"I am not the one that's keeping them alive, letting them feed off the glories of your _father's_ castle." He replied. Caspian did not fail to catch the hidden meaning behind his Uncle's words.

"I assure you, the problem is being taken care of." He said. "As for the rat, I do not believe you were in its company. One tends to imagines sounds when they are having secret meetings during the night."

This comment caused Miraz to storm off in an angry range, the Commander following suit, neither one even bothering to say goodbye. Caspian's eyes followed them as they stomped away into the distance. Once they were both out of sight, Caspian threw on his bathrobe and marched to Jade's room.

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**Your POV**

You sighed in relief. Caspian had handled that situation so well, and you were so glad that you weren't noticed. However, a light rapping at your door brought you out of your thoughts.

"_Shit."_ You thought as you saw Caspian through the keyhole. You paused, contemplating whether or not you should open the door.

"Jade!" he called. "I know you're in there, now open up." So you did.

You would have drooled over Caspian's dripping wet form if he had not looked so angry at you. He wore a plain white bathrobe…and that was it. The white of the robe contrasted great with his skin tone, making him look tanner than he really was. The robe hung loosely around his torso, revealing his exposed chest. His long brown hair was dripping wet, and you decided that you liked his hair 'down' much more than when it hung around his face.

"I thought I told you to stay in the room." He said.

Instead of looking into his eyes, your gaze followed a drop of water as it trickled down his defined chest and disappeared under his robe.

"Hey," he said more demandingly trying to get you to look into his eyes, but you wouldn't dare. "I thought I told you to stay in the room unless you were with me." You didn't like the tone he was speaking in.

"I didn't mean to." You said in a barely audible whisper.

Caspian sighed and wiped his hands over his face, massaging his temples in the process.

It took him a few moments to reply.

"Jade…I'm not mad at you." He said, calming down. "I'm just trying to help you, but I won't be able to if I don't know where you are. I told you before, I don't trust my Uncle alone with you."

"Me either…" you trailed off.

"Then why did you leave the room?" he asked.

Your eyes were still pressed to the ground, the weight and importance of the conversation overheard suddenly burdening your mind. You heard so much…yet so little at the same time.

"They're plotting my death." You said as unpleasant thoughts soared through your mind. "They're going to frame me…for murder, I think…and then they're going to blame me for it."

Caspian's expression softened a bit; however, you could tell he still felt a bit betrayed that you had left the room.

"_Maybe he thought I was trying to escape…"_ you thought.

"I heard them…I swear I'm not lying." You continued. "I wouldn't have gone out, but…I heard your name and, well…I was worried." You finally looked into his eyes. "I wasn't trying to leave here…or you. I promise. I didn't even think to call you before I left, I'm so sorry."

Caspian's hands came to your shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze before he began to lightly massage them.

"What did they say about me?" he asked.

"I don't know…I didn't hear any of that part clearly." You replied. "Sorry."

"It's alright." He said. "I think I have a slight idea of what they're up to." As if not to worry you any further, Caspian refrained from telling you his opinion on the matter. Instead, he grasped your hands with his.

"Do not leave this room, Jade. I must quickly change into my robes, but I will be right back." He said. "And when I return, we will go to our lesson. I'll tell my Professor about what you heard."

You nodded dumbly, too overwhelmed with everything to process words. Caspian seemed to be handling everything perfectly. He seemed like a born leader to you. You wondered if you would ever get to see his crowned King.

"Listen," he whispered to you, face leaning down so it was right in front of yours, "my Uncle will not lay a hand on you, not unless I have anything to do with it. Like I told you before, I'm going to protect you and keep you safe. You just have to trust me and do what I say."

You were undyingly grateful. As an act of trust and friendship, you wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

"Caspian…" you whispered. "If it weren't for you…" you trailed off, your unspoken words unneeded as Caspian returned your hug, his barely clad body pressed against you. Wild thoughts raced through your head, and it was impossible not to blush when you felt pleasure sear through ever part of your body. It was almost like hugging someone who was…

"You don't have to do this." You said, your voice hardly audible as you whispered into his shoulder.

"I want to do this." He whispered back into your ear.

And then Caspian pulled away from you abruptly and hurried back to his room to change, only to return a few minutes later as promised.

You shivered involuntarily, the warmth of your night robes chilling you. You dug into your backpack and fished out your sweater, wrapping it around you shivering form as you mentally prepared yourself for tonight's lesson.

"_It wasn't cold in here before…"_ you thought.

You then realized that it was Caspian's cold, wet, and dripping body that had been keeping you warm all along.

**All right! There you go! The story will start to blend with the movie around…chapter 9 or 10 I'd say.**

**But anyways, I hope you liked the story and I'll be sure to update as quickly as possible. Don't forget to post your thoughts about the whole using "you" instead of "she" thing if its annoying you.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it….REVIEW PLEASE! ******


	8. Chapter 8: One Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Alright…only a few of you said the 'you' instead of 'she' thing was bothering you, so I'm going to keep doing it until I get more reviews telling me not to. Otherwise…on with the story!**

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**Chapter 8: One Decision**

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**Both POVs**

You admired the relationship Caspian had with his Professor. They worked so diligently together and you were amazed that Caspian was actually eager to learn. You hated class at your school, but I guess you could say that Caspian's lessons were a bit more interesting. What could be better than gazing at the beautiful stars?

You leaned against the wall, sitting cross-legged as Caspian and his Professor peered through their telescopes, with the occasional 'ooh's' and laughs.

You, on the other hand, much preferred to gaze at the stars as they were, you didn't need a telescope to discover their beauty. Caspian had asked you countless times to peer into his device with him, but you refused, you liked looking at the night sky as a whole. And Caspian had been right before, the stars overhead were beautiful…you had yet to find a blank space were stars did not litter the sky. It looked like a magnificent dress, with sequins and glitter all over.

You closed your eyes as you let the soft wind tangle your hair, the image of the night sky still planted in your mind.

"So, Professor," you heard Caspian say, "you said that tonight's lesson was important. We are going to do more than observe the stars aren't we?"

Your eyes slowly opened at this comment. You, as well as Caspian, was eager to find out what the Professor had in store for you two. Caspian had seemed so excited, and apparently still was, and this only aroused your own excitement and curiosity as well. You straightened up in your spot against the wall.

"Yes, yes. Of course we are, my Prince." said the Professor with a hearty laugh.

"So…I guess you found what you were looking for in that book?" Caspian asked. The Professor nodded.

"Yes…I found precisely the tales that I was looking for." He said proudly. Glancing back at the sky once more, he began to roll up his parchment and star chart with Caspian following suit.

"Tales?" Caspian asked. "How many?" This seemed to excite him even more. You almost giggled at the boyish smile that adorned his face. He looked like a kid in a candy shop.

"Just two." said the Professor and he put on his spectacles and opened his book to where a bookmark lay. You read the title of the book: it said Greek Mythology. There lay another large book behind him and that book read: Narnia: Forgotten Memories. You perked up at the mention of the former book, you had always loved literature and reading books and mythology interested you very much.

The Professor cleared his throat and you directed your attention to him. Caspian took a seat beside you, your shoulders touching as he relaxed against the wall beside you.

"The first story I am going to read is called _The Story of Venus and Adonis_." He gave Caspian a meaningful look, and looked like they were having a telepathic conversation. You wondered if they knew something you didn't. The Professor continued.

"If you wish to read the whole story on your own time, then by all means do so. However, I will not keep you up here too late, therefore, I will briefly summarize it for you." He then held the book up to his face, shielding his expression and he began the story…

"Venus, playing one day with her boy Cupid, wounded her bosom with  
one of his arrows. She pushed him away, but the wound was deeper  
than she thought. Before it healed she beheld Adonis, and was  
captivated with him. She no longer took any interest in her  
favorite resorts, Paphos, and Cnidos, and Amathos, rich in  
metals. She absented herself even from Olympus, for Adonis was  
dearer to her than heaven. Him she followed and bore him  
company. She who used to love to recline in the shade, with no  
care but to cultivate her charms, now rambled through the woods  
and over the hills, dressed like the huntress Diana. She called  
her dogs, and chased hares and stags, or other game that it is  
safe to hunt, but kept clear of the wolves and bears, reeking  
with the slaughter of the herd. She charged Adonis, too, to  
beware of such dangerous animals. "Be brave towards the timid,"  
said she; "courage against the courageous is not safe. Beware  
how you expose yourself to danger, and put my happiness to risk.  
Attack not the beasts that Nature has armed with weapons. I do  
not value your glory so highly as to consent to purchase it by  
such exposure. Your youth, and the beauty that charms Venus,  
will not touch the hearts of lions and bristly boars. Think of  
their terrible claws and prodigious strength! I hate the whole  
race of them. Do you ask why?" Then she told him the story of  
Atalanta and Hippomenes, who were changed into lions for their  
ingratitude to her.

Having given him this warning, she mounted her chariot drawn by  
swans, and drove away through the air. But Adonis was too noble  
to heed such counsels. The dogs had roused a wild boar from his  
lair, and the youth threw his spear and wounded the animal with a  
sidelong stroke. The beast drew out the weapon with his jaws,  
and rushed after Adonis, who turned and ran; but the boar  
overtook him, and buried his tusks in his side, and stretched him  
dying upon the plain.

Venus, in her swan-drawn chariot, had not yet reached Cyprus,  
when she heard coming up through mid air the groans of her  
beloved, and turned her white-winged coursers back to earth. As  
she drew near and saw from on high his lifeless body bathed in  
blood, she alighted, and bending over it beat her breast and tore  
her hair. Reproaching the Fates, she said, "Yet theirs shall be  
but a partial triumph; memorials of my grief shall endure, and  
the spectacle of your death, my Adonis, and of my lamentation  
shall be annually renewed. Your blood shall be changed into a  
flower; that consolation none can envy me." Thus speaking, she  
sprinkled nectar on the blood; and as they mingled, bubbles rose  
as in a pool on which raindrops fall, and in an hour's time there  
sprang up a flower of bloody hue like that of a pomegranate. But  
it is short-lived. It is said the wind blows the blossoms open,  
and afterwards blows the petals away; so it is called Anemone, or  
wind Flower, from the cause which assists equally in its  
production and its decay."

The Professor leaned back in his chair, analyzing the expression of his two students. Caspian looked a bit baffled, he was never really good at catching the meanings of the stories his Professor told. You, on the other hand, were an expert at analyzing literature and look abashed.

"That's horrid!" you said. Caspian looked to you with confusion.

"It is?" he asked. You gave him a reproachful look. The Professor merely stared at you, a curious gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, very." You defended. "How could you think otherwise?"

Caspian didn't speak. Having no idea what significance the story held, he didn't know how he was going to either support the story or defend it. The Professor, noticing his dilemma, questioned you on the matter.

"Mind telling us what you find so horrid, Jade?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, I hate the way it portrays love!" you said, keeping you voice to a dull roar as she explains. "I read the whole story before in school…so I know what it's talking about. Venus was so depressed by the loss of Adonis, that she put a curse on love, saying that it will always end badly and those who love best, like her, will know most sorrow. I completely disagree."

Caspian didn't take his eyes off you as you continued to speak to his Professor. "Love isn't the cause of pain or suffering. Much the opposite. It doesn't always end badly and it most certainly does not result in everlasting sorrow."

"I'm sure you would think otherwise if you were in Venus's shoes, now wouldn't you?" the Professor asked.

"No, not at all! Love is…" you were not stumped by the Professor's statement, but you were finding it hard to pinpoint exactly what love was. "Love is…umm…love is love, you know? I believe that is brings about the best in people, not the worst. Love is the cause of happiness, not sorrow."

"I understand, Jade," said the Professor, "But picture yourself as Venus. You were madly in love with someone, and all of a sudden, they died, leaving you alone in the world. Would you not feel empty and despise other couples who were madly in love as you once were? Wouldn't you wish for their unhappiness as well?"

"I…I might be a bit envious…but I would never want anyone so in love to suffer like Venus had. That wouldn't make anything better. It wouldn't bring Adonis back, that's for sure." You finished.

"I agree." Caspian said, turning to you and looking into your eyes. You smiled at him and turned back to the Professor for his reaction. He was smiling as well.

"That is indeed very mature of you, Jade. I am impressed." He said. "Do either of you have any questions or comments?" Caspian spoke up.

"So…that's it? That's the whole story?" he asked.

"Yes…why do you ask?" asked the Professor.

"Well, it does seem a bit…horrid. I mean, Venus loses the love of her life. It is in a way…depressing." Caspian said, remembering his lesson with his Professor when he told him that the planet Venus was on its orbit and it directly coincided with Jade's mysterious appearance. He couldn't help but picture Jade as Venus, totally distraught and depressed over his death.

"_Did I just picture me and Jade together…?" _he thought, turning his head to catch a glimpse at her.

"Indeed…that is the point of the story. It is a tale meant to warn those of the dangers and possibilities of love. It does not necessarily mean that it is true for all cases." The Professor said, and if understanding Caspian's concern for Jade. He did not know, however, that Caspian pictured himself as Adonis.

"So…she never found love again?" Caspian asked.

The Professor sighed. "No…I do not believe so, my Prince." He said, noting how both his students moods drastically dropped. He took this as a sign to continue with the next story.

"Alright then…moving on to the next story, I believe this one will leave you two in much better spirits." He said, putting down the copy of Greek Mythology and opening up the book named Narnia: Forgotten Memories.

"Umm…excuse me Professor," You said before he could start, "I'm sorry for asking, but…what is Narnia." You asked.

"This," he said, opening his arms and motioning to the beautiful landscape that lay below their high tower, "is Narnia. It is not what it used to be, but it is still Narnia, a magical land which you have much more to learn about. I assure you that Prince Caspian will be able to tell you all you need to know. As for now, we will read the tale of how Narnia was born…"

Caspian sat up straighter at the mention of this. He has never heard this story before, and it seemed quite interesting.

"Many years ago,

When prehistoric creatures roamed the plains,

And battles raged from land to land,

Hatred brewed in the hearts of all,

Power hungry, lustful mongrels

Could not be evaded for miles and miles

Except for one fair maiden

Who frowned upon all sorts of war and crime.

She despised fighting

And relinquished the thought of war.

She dreamed of peace, and hope

And of love.

And one night,

When her belligerent father lay asleep

Half-conscious from his hearty drinks

The fair maiden fled from the kingdom

And ran away to start a new life.

After 2 years of continuous struggle

She finally found a forest that seemed to be vacant

Of any living creatures or man.

Pleased with her findings,

She decided to make this place her new home.

Placing a hand on a cherry tree,

She ran her fingers down the bark

And much to her surprise

The tree seemed to like her pleasant gesture.

It bent down its branches

And held out a fresh cherry, ripe enough to eat.

The girl back away,

Startled as the tree began to move.

Placing her hand on another tree

She noted that it moved as well as the first.

And then she did it to another

And another

And another

Until all the trees in the forest were dancing with life.

And then she touched the seas

And the grass

And then the flowers

And the mountains

And the animals that came to live off the land

She also touched

And they could talk

And all that came before her

And everything that she touched turned to life.

But although all the beings in the forest

Kept her company

And danced with her all night

And brought her food

And stroked her cheeks lovingly

She could not help but feel lonely

For she desired love above all

And although her hands could give live

They could not give love

And she wept

Alone with no one to love her.

All the beings of the forest

Who were ever most grateful for her touch

Felt her pain

And wished for her happiness

So as she lay asleep

They all gave a bit of themselves

To make a new life.

The trees gave their knowledge

The waters gave their pride

The mountains gave their stability

And the flowers gave their beauty

And will all these elements combined

They created a young man

Who sprung to life

With the touch of the fair maiden.

And they fell in love.

On the day that they died

They called for all the animals

To gather in the clearing

For a few last words.

As they asked each creature

"What, among everything,

Is most important in life?

Is it love?

Is it hope?

Is it power?

Or is it knowledge?

What, among all aspects of life

Is most important?"

And each creature responded

Giving their own answer on the matter

But none gave a satisfying answer

Until a noble Lion named Aslan came before them

And he said,

"Everything is equally important.

Nothing has greater value over another

The night and day are equal

Love and hatred are equal

Men and women are equal

Not on thing

Holds power over the other

Everything is of significance

Everything is important."

The now old maiden and her love

Showered noble Aslan

With the riches of the land

And said to him,

"You, my dear Aslan,

Bear more knowledge

Than anyone else in this forest.

And as a reward

You shall be known as King Alsan

Immortal ruler of Narnia."

And they both gave them their life force

And died in each other's arms.

But although the maiden was a mere human

She possessed the gift of life

Therefore, would never be one to completely parish.

But rather let her spirit live on

In hopes that someday

Narnia would finally be ruled

By a King and Queen who fell in love.

And if the day were to ever come

All doors to Narnia would finally be shut

And the forest and all the lands would never be seen

By outsiders again.

The maiden's spirit would make sure of this,

But until then

All doors would remain open

For the couple who is to bring about this day

Would not be from this world.

And once they are together

Madly in love in this world, and no other,

Peace would spread throughout the land

Never allowing any violent outsider

To stumble upon a magical cave or tree

And enter the magical world of Narnia

And threaten the couple's land, or their love."

The Professor put down the book, finishing the second and last story of the night. And he was right, the tale did leave the two young adults in high spirits.

"Wow…" Caspian said, "those stories were like…opposites."

"Yes, much like opposites. However, they have their similarities." said the Professor.

"Does the story ever say when this day is to come?" Caspian asked.

"No." said the Professor. "It is, after all, only a folk tale. A very old one, at that. It is possible that this day they speak of will never come."

You were deep in thought, taking in both the stories and analyzing their meanings.

"Their like…alternate endings." You said at last. "Both of the stories…it's like…either love prevails, or it doesn't. A world can either be destroyed by love…or saved by it." Caspian looked at you with such admiration, as if you had just discovered why the sky was blue.

"My dear, what a sharp mind you have." said the Professor, also looking at you with admiration.

"But then…what is the determining factor?" Caspian asked out of the blue. You looked at him.

"What do you mean exactly?" you asked.

"Well…" he began, "Either love fails or it doesn't. Either there's peace or theirs not. What is the determining factor that brings about either failure or success? There has to be some sort of…choice someone makes to decide the fate of Narnia."

"You're right…" said the Professor. "It could be anything. One decision could possible change the fate of Narnia forever."

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

"_One decision could possible change the fate of Narnia forever."_

You could not sleep. The Professor's words rang in your head all throughout the night, and you couldn't help but feel be burdened by them. You tried to rid your head of your thoughts, but the whole ordeal made you feel…anxious for some reason.

You also remembered the conversation Caspian had with his Professor before you two left. For some reason, they would not allow you to overhear their conversation. However, little tidbits from their conversation still lingered in your memory.

"…_saw her before I came…giving birth tomorrow night…a girl…safe…"_

"…_but what if…my Uncle…Jade's safety…let me know…"_

You wished you had caught more of their conversation; you hated being kept in the dark about serious situation. But you knew Caspian was only trying to keep you safe. He knew what he was doing…or at least you hoped he did.

With anxiety plaguing your mind, you accepted the fact that you would probably never get to bed that night.

Just then, a piercing scream echoed throughout the whole castle. Apparently, a woman was in pain somewhere.

You bolted up in your bed as she screamed once more. You didn't want to admit it, but the feeling in your gut was burning with fear.

"_Something bad is going to happen…"_

**Alright! Finally some action!**

**Next Chapter is where the movie picks up…so get ready!**

**REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY**


	9. Chapter 9: Flight of the Prince

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. And for all of you Harry Potter fans, yes I am using the name of one of the chapter's from the 6****th**** book. It's the name of the one where Snape runs away in case you forgot. Sorry…it's one of my favorite parts of the book and the name for this chapter seemed perfect.**

**Alright, here's where it starts getting good! Mind you…I won't be paraphrasing the movie word by word. I'm just going to use a similar plot, and I'll try to not make it too much like the movie…cause that's dumb.**

**But I finally found out the name of the "Commander". His name is ****General Glozelle so I'll be using that from now on. **

**And I don't know if and of you are Naruto fans that are following the Manga but I am and WOW! It's really getting interesting!**

**Thanks again for all the reviews! They're amazing support, especially those who comment often. You guys are awesome!**

**On with the story…**

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**Chapter 9: Flight of the Prince**

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**Other POV**

Lord Miraz gazed out the window, fingers impatiently tapping on the windowsill. The screams of his wife were dismissed from his worries as he waited in anticipation. The moment of truth was about to arise, thus either accomplishing or foiling his plans.

The screams of his wife soon died out. He continued to lean against the window, although his calm exterior betrayed his nervous state on the inside. Footsteps echoed in the distance, and they came to a halt a few feet behind him.

"Your wife…" said General Glozelle, "she has given birth to a son."

Miraz was elated. However, he dare not lose his cool in front of his subjects.

"We have been blessed." He said as adrenaline began to run through his veins. He turned to his General, eyes narrowed. The plan had only begun; there was still a job to be done. Not by him, of course. "You know your orders…General. And remember, no room is off-limits. Search for the girl everywhere, she could be in any room. Cover your ground as quickly as possible."

General Glozelle saluted to his Lord, and with a bow of his head, rushed away to notify his soldiers.

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

You paced your room back in forth until the screaming subsided. Her cries of agony had lasted at least twenty minutes, and you took that time to change into other clothes, discarding your nightgown. You didn't know why you changed…you just felt anxious. And what did it matter? You wouldn't be falling back asleep anytime soon anyways. You were too wide awake now.

When you and Caspian went shopping, you couldn't help but desire to wear anything that wasn't a dress. In fact, all the clothes you bought were rather baggy or too big, that's why you decided to wear your tight white spaghetti strap, which you had clean the previous day, and your long white skirt. Even though it was still ripped, you still desired to wear it. Oh how you missed normal clothes.

You continued to pace your room back and forth, contemplating whether or not you should go to Caspian's room. But you then realized that you had no idea where his room was. You had never seen him go into it because you were always cooped up in your own room. You could scale the wall to get onto his balcony…

"_Yeah ok."_ You thought sarcastically.

"…_saw her before I came…giving birth tomorrow night…a girl…safe…"_

While you paced the room, you recalled the overheard whispers of the Professor that night.

"_So…the lady must have been screaming because she was going through childbirth." _You thought, shivering at the thought of yourself going through the same procedure in the future. _"But she was supposed to give birth tomorrow night? Guess not…"_

As you further contemplated what their conversation could have been about, you heard a faint knock on your door, followed by the turned of a key. The lock clicked open and the door began to swing.

"_Shit! I didn't think anyone knew where I was."_

You knelt down on the floor and were about to unlatch the trapdoor…but it was too late. The door had swung open and you looked up from your place on the ground…ready accept your fate. But to your relief, and surprise, there under the threshold stood Caspian's Professor, clad in a night cloak that hooded his head and shielded his face. You let out the breath you didn't realize you had been holding. He stepped into the room, closing the door a bit behind him.

You wanted to slap him for scaring you so badly, but you were also relieved to see him. You couldn't imagine all the possibilities of who could have opened that door…

"Professor." You said a bit disgruntled. "What is the meaning of-?"

"No time for words." He interrupted. He shuffled over to you and grabbed you by the arm, roughly dragging you out of the room. "Be quiet." He ordered.

You didn't protest, but glanced back at your open door and all your belongings that were being left behind.

"But what about-?"

"I said be quiet! Your life is in danger!" he violently whispered.

Well that sure shut you up. He had said it so casually, and you didn't really have time to worry or panic. Besides, you had already known you were in danger after you overheard Miraz's conversation with General Glozelle earlier on that night.

You hardly traveled down the hallway at all until you reached a magnificent looking door. Even though you had never been here before, you had a good hunch as to whose room it was. The Professor didn't even knock this time as he quietly broke into the room, looking both ways down the hallway before entering.

You followed suit, walking into the medium-sized room. It wasn't much bigger or more interesting than yours; except for the extra large wardrobe against the wall and a tall perch where a black raven sat at the top.

The bed in the middle of the room was covered in drapes, hiding whatever may lie behind the fabric. You stood behind the Professor as he ripped the curtains open and clasped a hand over the handsome young man who lay asleep.

Caspian's eyes popped open, but softened when he saw that it was only his Professor. He looked past his Professor, getting a good look at you. He pried the Professor's hand off of his mouth and signed in relief.

"What? Another story?" he asked, not very happy at being woken up. "Five more minutes…" he trailed off as he began to fall back asleep. The Professor growled at his lazy attitude and shook him by the shoulders.

"You will not be hearing anymore stories tonight, my Prince. Your Aunt, Queen Prunaprismia, has given birth to a son. You and Jade are in grave danger. You two need to leave immediately!" He said. This seemed to get Caspian's attention.

He ripped the covers off and sprung from his bed, joining you as you stood behind the Professor. You wondered what you were supposed to do next. Caspian sensed your nervousness, and he took you hand in his and began to stroke it.

You both watched the Professor step inside Caspian's large wardrobe and he motioned you to follow. To your surprise, there was a hidden passage. Caspian quickly pushed you ahead of him when you heard the shuffling of feet outside his door.

Caspian closed the door to his wardrobe just as the guards opened the door to his bedroom, but not all the way. He left a little slit open, and you both watched with curiosity and fear. You two could see guards coming into your bedroom and they formed a circle around the bed, with General Glozelle commanding them. Suddenly, General Glozelle gave some sort of signal and they all started shooting the bed with arrows, thinking Caspian was still sleeping. You gasped in horror and Caspian covered your mouth. You two looked at each other. You could see a bit of fear in his eyes.

You both kept watching until the guards finally realized that there was no one in the bed, your gasp being barely audible against the shrieks of Caspian's raven. Just then, another soldier came in the room with more guards behind him.

"Well?" asked General Glozelle.

"There is no sign of her. We can't find her anywhere." The soldier said.

You and Caspian didn't wait to hear the rest of their conversation as you both bolted down the secret passageway and caught up with the Professor, eager to escape as fast as possible.

The tunnel led you to the stable, where the horses and weapons were kept.

You watched in admiration as Caspian pulled on his armor and chose a sword. Rummaging through the armor, he pulled out a small solider jacket for you to wear. He then straddled his horse and held out his hand to you.

Under any other circumstances, you would have refused. But considering the situation, you gladly accepted his hand and placed yourself behind him, arms wrapped around his chest. As you pressed your arms against the front of his body, you could feel his irregular heartbeat. You gave him a little squeeze, trying to reassure him.

He looked behind at you to see if you were settled in, and once you were, he turned back to his Professor.

"You must head for the woods, my Prince. They won't follow you there," said the Professor. He then reached into his cloak and pulled out a horn that resembled the head of a lion. "Here, take this. It look me years to find it. Only use it in your greatest need." He then wrapped it up in a cloth and handed it to Caspian. He tied it to his belt.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked his Professor sadly, and you felt his pain.

"I certainly hope so, my Prince. Be careful. Everything you know is about to change." And with that final note, Caspian kicked his horse and the both of you rode off into the distance toward the forest. Caspian turned around to you.

"Don't let go." He said, and kicked his horse once more in an attempt to go faster.

It wasn't long before the guards were out an about, trying to stop you to from escaping. To your horror, they were even beginning to pull up the draw bridge. However, Caspian managed to evade all of their attacks and jumped the gap created from the draw bridge. The horse landed safely and continued to race full speed ahead.

"Caspian," you said, looking back, "they're following us!"

Sure enough, there were six guards hot on your trail, with General Glozelle leading them from the front.

It must have been a sight to see, a rapid chase in the dead of night; the quiet and peaceful plains now thundering with the sounds of incessant gallops. You were a bit relieved, however, to see the woods coming closer into view.

"I know," said Caspian, "just don't let go."

The only problem was that there was still a river that separated you both from the forest. But Caspian's horse pulled on through, merely stumbling here and there, but never giving up even though the water was quite deep. To your advantage, the guards seemed to be having trouble crossing the river. One of their horses collapsed into the water, slowing the rest of them down and giving you and Caspian a head start as the horse plunged into the woody depths.

……………………………………………………………………

Inside the woods, it was even darker than before. The trees that towered above shielded out the little amount of light that the late night sky provided. You could barely see before you, and at the speed your horse was moving, you were shocked that Caspian was actually able to steer in such conditions.

The ride was not smooth by all means, and you were starting to feel dizzy. You closed your eyes and laid your head on Caspian's back, hoping that you the ride would stop soon. You should have been careful what you wished for.

Caspian looked over his should for just a moment, but then adverted his gaze to you…watching as you forcefully shut your eyes uncomfortably.

Of course, by the time he turned around it was too late. A low, and rather thick, tree branched knocked him off the horse, and you, with your iron-like grasp around his waist, followed suit. Caspian, although not expecting the fall, anticipated it, and twisted his body as he fell so that you would fall on top of him instead of under him.

You were scared, yet grateful. Caspian had taken the full impact of the fall for you, and right after you hit the ground, Caspian was suddenly pulled from underneath you and began to slide across the terrain. You laid on your back on the cold ground for only a moment before realizing that Caspian was somehow still stuck to his horse and began to chase after him. The last thing you wanted was to get separated from him in an unknown forest.

You desperately chased after him, but soon enough he managed to free his right leg that was caught on the saddle. He lay there unmoving, his horse running off into the unknown.

"Caspian!" you said, worry dripping with every breath. "Are you alright?" He continued to stay still, groaning from his pain.

"My head…" he moaned, placing a hand on his head.

You helped him sit up, brushing off the stray leaves that stuck to his clothes. He stared at you as you pulled the leaves and twigs that were tangled in his hair. You stared back at him.

Both your eyes widened in fear as you heard the faint sound of hoofs in the near distance. Caspian patted around his belt, as if looking for something.

"The horn…Jade, where's the-" a loud crashing sound a few feet away startled the both of you, causing Caspian to cease his speaking.

You wiped your head around to see two midgets sprint out of a hidden door. Caspian pulled his arm around your waist when you noticed that the dwarf-like men had daggers in their hands and bows and arrows strapped onto their backs. You grabbed onto a part of his sleeve.

Looking ahead, you noticed the horn a few feet away from you. It was equal distance between you and one of the dwarfs. You nudged Caspian and nodded for him to follow your gaze. Once he noticed the horn as well, he pulled his hand from your waist and started scooting toward the horn as the two dwarfs were pre-occupied talking with one another.

"I'll take care of them." You heard the dwarf with long hair say as the sound of hoofs seemed dangerously close. He ran away to greet the guards.

The meaner looking dwarf and Caspian were now having a stare down, the former almost daring Caspian to make a move. With the nearing guards and the threatening dwarfs, you could tell that he wanted to blow the horn.

And when the guards finally came into your view, Caspian panicked, and made a dive for the horn. He was quicker than the dwarf, and sounded the horn immediately. However, the dwarf did not hesitate to hit him with the hilt of the sword, knocking out the Prince.

"Caspian!" you gasped, scooting over to him and cradling his head in your arms. Blood was running down the side of him face from a deep cut on his temple. Without a second thought, you ripped off another piece of your skirt and pressed the fabric against Caspian's cut, trying to stop the bleeding. You combed his hair out of his face, letting your palm rest atop his cheek as you stroked him lovingly.

You looked up to see the dwarf advancing on you as well, and you held onto Caspian's shoulders in an attempt to shield him from another blow. You intended to protect him with your life.

But just then, the hidden door opened again and a badger appeared.

"Nikabrik! They're coming!" he said flailing his arms. Ok…a talking badger. You then remembered the second story the Professor told you about the girl that brought the animals of the forest to life with her touch. "Hurry back inside! Bring them with you." He said motioning to you and Caspian. On any other circumstances, you would protest to follow a creature who you thought meant you harm, but anything was better than being caught by the Talmerine guards. If you and Caspian were caught, you would surely die.

"Them?!" the dwarf apparently named Nikabrik said. He looked at you disgusted. "But they-"

"It doesn't matter now! Hurry!" the badger persisted. Nikabrik looked back at you and Caspian, giving you a dirty look.

With amazing strength you didn't think such a small person could possess, Nikabrik threw Caspian over his shoulder.

"You can walk." He rudely said to you as a signal to go into the house with him and his badger friend. You followed him, grabbing the horn as you went.

……………………………………………………………………

You had all made it safely into the house, all except for one.

"Where is Trumpkin?" asked the badger.

Nikiabrik plopped Caspian's unconscious form on a small bed and shrugged his shoulders. "Went off to fend off the rest of their friends." He said with a disgruntled look as he stared at you. "Most likely got himself captured…or killed."

"Oh dear…" said the badger. He stared at you as well, but his eyes weren't nearly as intense or scary as Nikiabrik's. He stared at you with much confusion. He obviously noticed something that his friend did not.

You, on the other hand, felt horrible for the dwarf Trumpkin who went to fight off the Talmerine's all by himself. He may be a good fighter, but you doubted anyone could win against those odds.

"_Hold on…did that stupid dwarf say that those soldiers were our friends?"_

"Hey!" you said, defending yourself a bit too late. "They weren't our friends."

Nikabrik snorted. "Heh, oh really now? Then why are you both dressed in Talmarine armor? Explain that!" he yelled.

You were about to retort when the badger spoke up. "Nikabrik! Stop!" he yelled. "Look what's in her hands." He said softly. Your hands tightened around the horn, even though you didn't really know the significance of it. It was apparently something important. Nikiabrik didn't seem to care. This comment actually seemed to anger him even more.

"I know. That idiot over there blew it. That's why I knocked him out" he said looking over at Caspian. "I reckon we should knock out his little girlfriend too. That way they won't feel a thing when we kill them in their sleep."

You mentally sweat-dropped **(Sorry I know that's anime and all but I could resist :)** _"Why does everyone want to kill me? Don't they have anything better to do?!"_

He drew out his dagger again, and you dropped the horn on the ground and immediately ran to Caspian's unconscious form on the bed.

"Caspian! Caspian wake up!" you said shaking him. "Caspian wake up! Come on, they're going to kill us! We have to leave!" you pleaded, but he would still not wake.

"Nikabrik!" the badger scolded. "How dare you!"

You heard a scuffling in the other room and left Caspian's side to see what all the commotion was about. You feared that the dwarf and the badger were going to kill each other or something. However, the sight you saw made you want to laugh. Nikabrik was lying on his stomach, his arms and legs flailing as the badger continued to suffocate him by sitting on his head.

"TRUFFLEHUNTER!" Nikabrik yelled. "Get off me!" he continued to thrash, but the badger, apparently named Trufflehunter, would not budge.

"No! Not until you apologize to the poor girl." He said.

They both became silent and Trufflehunter turned to you after you let out a giggle. You slapped your hand onto your mouth. He smiled at you apologetically.

"I'm sorry, my dear. Don't worry, we mean you no harm. Don't we?" he said to Nikiabrik, bouncing up and down a little to annoy the dwarf even further.

"Okay, okay, fine! Sorry! Just get off!" he yelled. I didn't sound like he really meant it though. Trufflehunter gave a triumphant smile and removed his bottom from Nikabrik's head, bouncing up and down one last time before he got off for fun. Nikiabrik quickly stood to his feet and brushed himself off, his face red from both rage and embarrassment. He glared at you as if the whole thing was your fault, and you shrunk at the sight of his narrowed eyes. You didn't trust him and glared right back.

"Very well then." said Trufflehunter. "I'm sorry if Nikabrik scared you. My name, as you probably already know, it Trufflehunter. You and your friend or more then welcome to stay the night." He walked over to the horn that still lay on the ground and picked it up. He held it with such care and signed as he placed it on the table. He then walked over to you and Caspian and bandaged Caspian's wound.

"Thank you." You said. "Sorry for the trouble…and about your friend." You added, still thinking about Trumpkin.

"Don't fret, my dear. It is not your fault." He said. "You should get to bed. It may be a bit early, but you must be tired. You must have been through a lot. You and your friend can explain everything in the morning."

He walked into the other room and appeared with a blanket and extra pillow.

"I'm very sorry, but we only have one bed to offer." He said placing the extra pillow on the bed next to the one Caspian was using.

"That's alright." You said. "I don't mind, really."

Trufflehunter nodded his head and disappeared into the kitchen.

You laid down on the bed, realizing how truly exhausted you were. You turned your head to the side to look at Caspian, who seemed to have a troubled look on his face. His eyebrows were knitted together and a trickle of sweaty slid down the side of his face. It didn't look like he was having a very peaceful sleep. You scooted over to him and kissed the top of his head where the bandage was, resting your head on his shoulder and placing your hand on his chest. The rhythmic beating of his heart and his shallow breathes were the last things you heard before you drifted off to sleep.

**Alright, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really enjoyed writing it, especially the part with Trufflehunter sitting on Nikabrik's head! Haha :)**

**I decided not to write the part about how the Pensieves get to Narnia and all****…you all know what happens. Plus I wasn't going to change those parts anyway so it would kind of be a waste of time to write them.**

**Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	10. Chapter 10: This Means War

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked the last chapter…and as usual, thanks to everyone who reviews. Wooo Chapter 10…I'm getting into double digits! This is exciting…I never thought id be able to keep up the writing. I guess it was more fun than I thought.**

**Sorry it took me a bit longer to write this chapter, I really need a job over the summer and I've been looking for one like crazy!**

**I don't have much to say so…on with the story!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

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**Chapter 10: This Means War**

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**Your POV (Dream)**

_You were walking through the forest. The trees were very thin, allowing rays of sunlight to filter through here and there. They seemed…friendly. Well, of course, anything that giggled could not possibly be harmful, right?_

_You kept walking, the pink petals of the trees dancing around you and tickling your face. They swayed and titled with you, and some even seemed to follow you to your destination…which you didn't even know yourself. You didn't care though; you just kept dancing and dancing._

_When you were done, you looked up ahead into a clearing. And there, you saw Caspian. Well…the back of him really. _

"_Caspian!" you called to him playfully, and you began to run forward. _

_However, as you ran, you began to notice that all of the trees shrunk back. You turned around; they were no longer following you. Instead, their heads were bowed, and if your ears deceived you, they seemed to be emitting off a sort of growl. You were bewildered…hadn't they just been dancing with you?_

_They didn't seem friendly anymore._

_You were scared, so you continued running over to Caspian. You ran much faster this time, in fear that the trees would strangle you to dead or something cruel. You reached the clearing of the forest, and Caspian's back was still to you._

"_Caspian," you gasped out. He did not even acknowledge that you were there. You wondered if he could even hear you._

"_Caspian!" you yelled furiously this time. Your voice echoed throughout the forest, bringing the attention of all the trees and other living beings. _

_Finally, Caspian seemed to respond to your calls. As if in slow motion, he turned his head around, eyes glaring daggers at you._

_You stumbled back a bit, astonished as to why Caspian was looking at you with such intensity. _

"_Caspian?" you said a fourth time, utterly confused._

_He turned his whole body completely around, so that his form was facing yours, eyes continuing their attempt to kill you with such a piercing look. He began to take steps toward you, and for ever step forward he took, you took one backwards._

"_What are you still doing here?" he asked, venom dripping off ever word. You had never heard Caspian speak with such a tone. It reminded you of…his Uncle._

"_What do you mean? I just got here." You innocently replied._

"_No, you were just leaving." He said, walking toward you with a quicker pace. You continued to back up, but your path was blocked soon enough. You turned around to see the trees of the forest forming a line, preventing you from backing up any further. _

_With your only route to escape being closed off, Caspian eventually made it over to your side, grasping your upper arm and lifting you up._

"_Please, don't tell me you want to stay on my account." This time he spoke, his voice seemed a bit softer. You couldn't, however, pinpoint the sound of his voice. It felt like he had been hurt? No, not just hurt. He felt…sad? Maybe that too…but his tone was not too soft. So he must be feeling…confused? "You're no longer wanted here." He said, dropping your fragile form back on the ground. You looked up to him, and gazed into his empty eyes. You understood now._

_He felt betrayed._

_You stood up, trying to figure out what you had done._

"_Caspian, I'm…sorry? Really…I have no idea what I did wrong." You said. Caspian chuckled._

"_You did nothing wrong." He said, turning around to walk away. "Just leave already. Forget about it."_

_You reached your hand out to grab his shoulder, but you realized that you could not move. There was a tightening sensation in your stomach, and you looked down to see the branches of the trees holding you back, wrapping you up against their trucks. It was nearly impossible to escape._

"_Caspian come back!" you yelled to his retreating form. "I'm not leaving! I promise!" _

_This seemed to ignite something within Caspian. He whipped his head around, but did not dare make a single step towards your direction. His eyes were no longer soft, and that evil gleam came back to his handsome face. However, to you, he did not seem so handsome anymore._

"_You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?!" his voice boomed, making you lean back into the tree trunks. "You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! You lied to me! Now get out of my sight! Leave." He turned back around, continuing his journey to nowhere. _

"_I wasn't lying! I want to stay!" you said, unsure of your own words. What had you promised before? "I want to be with you!" you said, the words rolling off you tongue unexpectedly. You were shocked at your outbreak, but did not regret your confession. Caspian's form froze at your statement and he spoke in a whisper._

"_Well I don't want to be with you." He said. He turned around, so you could see the fresh tears brimming his face. "Things never happen the same way twice." He looked you straight in the eyes, and you looked back. You realized that you loved looking into his eyes. _

_But then, he was back to walking away again. You struggled against the thick tree branches, but they would not budge._

"_Caspian, wait!" you called out desperately, tears brimming your eyes as well now. "Caspian, please! Don't leave me here!"_

_The trees then began to shake you back and forth, torturing you even further as their grip seemed to be slowly suffocating you. You twisted and turned, arms and legs kicking and scratching, trying anything in order to break free. But you could not…and you felt helpless._

_Weak…unloved…confused…alone…helpless._

_You could not hold it in any longer, and tears began to stream down your face as you continued to thrash about._

"_Caspian…" you whispered. "Don't leave me…"you said, punching off a soft tree branch that seemed to clasp onto your shoulder. It retreated back, grasped your shoulder once more. You did not take too kindly to this. You started fighting it back, until another branch came atop your mouth, preventing you from making any sound. You continued to struggle._

"_Shh…Jade…quiet!" said a soft and familiar voice. "Wake up…It's only me." You smiled, even though it was hard to with the hand clamped over your mouth._

_You opened your jade eyes, desiring to be greeted by Caspian's beautiful brown ones._

_Dream Over_

**(Still your POV)**

You were so relieved to be freed from that horrible dream…nightmare, really.

Opening your eyes, you saw Caspian who was…lying on top of you. His body was pressed down against yours, suffocating you while he was trying to prevent you from struggling. One of his hands lay on your shoulder and the other was clasped over your mouth.

All your worries from your previous nightmare seemed to fade away as Caspian gave you a relieved smile, pulling himself up off your body.

"Sorry about that…I thought you'd never wake up…" he whispered as he sat on the bed. You looked up at him, and saw that he was massaging the place where his bandage was. The place where Nikabrik hit him on the head. You froze.

Just then, memories of the previous night and the chase all came back to you, plaguing your mind with fear and worry. You instantly sat up and wrapped your arms around Caspian's neck, securing yourself in his embrace. Your head rested in the crook of his neck, and you let the sound of his rhythmic heartbeat comfort you, just like it had before you fell asleep that same night.

"Oh Caspian," you whispered as well, since it was probably early in the morning. "I was so worried about you, you wouldn't wake up." He held onto you tighter.

"It's alright, Jade. I just got knocked out. Don't worry, I'm alright now." He said as he ran his fingers through your long black hair.

But then you heard scuttling and faint words in the other room, and you figured Caspian still had no idea where he was.

You looked up to him, and he looked as alert as every, straining his ears to listen to the words being spoken. He crept over to the edge of the open doorway and leaned against the wall. From last night, you remembered that the open doorway led to the kitchen, and it was probably currently being occupied by its residents: Trufflehunter and Nikabrik…minus Trumpkin.

You silently went over to his side. You wanted to explain everything to him before he did anything rash.

"Caspian," you whispered, "They won't hurt us, they said so last night. Well…" Caspian looked to you with uncertainty, "at least, Trufflehunter said he wouldn't…I don't know about Nikabrik."

Caspian seemed to be even more suspicious now, and the two of you listened intently as the conversation Trufflehunter and Nikabrik were having became more heated and loud enough for you to hear what they were saying.

"Why don't we just kill them?" said a low and menacing voice, which could only belong to Nikabrik. You growled. You knew he couldn't be trusted. As if thinking the same thing, Caspian took his hand in yours and gave it a squeeze.

"Oh, Nikabrik. They're just children. Besides we can't kill them, I just re-bandaged the boy's head." The badger was going towards you and Caspian, and you could hear his footsteps. "We can't do that, it would be like killing a guest."

You looked up at Caspian and knew that he still felt endangered, no matter what Trufflehunter said. There was a determined gleam in his eyes, and you knew he was going to do something stupid.

"Stay here." He whispered to you.

"_Yep…he's gonna do something stupid."_

"No! Caspian, wait!" you tried to stop him, but it was too late.

He bolted for the door, knocking a bowl of soup out of Trufflehunter's hands as he ran past him. Nikabrik was quick to his feet and stood up, drawing his sword. Caspian stopped for only a moment before picking up an iron bar from the fireplace and started to fight with Nikabrik.

"Stop it, Caspian!" you yelled at the same time as Trufflehunter, who was calling for Nikabrik to stop. As much as you didn't like Nikabrik, you didn't want Caspian to hurt anyone.

Hearing the calls of you and Trufflehunter, they both seemed to settle down, but they still were wary of each other.

"I told you we should have killed them when we had the chance." Nikabrik said, putting his sword away and glaring at Caspian.

"Calm down, Nikabrik. Or do I have to sit on your head again." That seemed to calm the angry dwarf down.

Still in the bedroom, you silently giggled at this comment, remembering the events of last night when Trufflehunter sat on Nikabrik's head. Caspian was the only one who heard you, and he turned his head to you when he remembered that you were still in the bedroom. You walked over to him and smiled before you went to help Trufflehunter clean up the mess Caspian made.

"Oh! You're awake, my dear. Thank you very much." He said to you.

"No problem." You said with a smile.

He then looked over at Caspian. "Look what you made me do. I spent half a morning on that soup." Trufflehunter said going back to the pot where the rest of the soup was. Caspian looked confused.

"What are you?" he asked. You wanted to slap him for being so rude, and gave him a disapproving look.

"Funny you should ask, most people know a badger when they see one." Trufflehunter said.

"That's not what I meant. You Narnians are supposed to be extinct." This caught your attention. Never once did he or his Professor mention to you that the creatures of Narnia had been extinct. Or…that they were supposed to be.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you." Nikabrik said sitting back down at the table.

Trufflehunter re-filled the bowl of soup and placed it on the table, next to an already filled bowl. "Here you go, it's still hot." He said to you and Caspian, motioning for you to eat the soup. You took your bowl gratefully, thanking the badger for his hospitality.

"Since when is this a hotel for traveling Talmarine soldiers?" Nikabrik asked rudely, apparently not happy that Trufflehunter was aiding you and Caspian. Did he really still think you two were dangerous?

Caspian seemed a bit insulted by this comment.

"I'm not a soldier. I'm Prince Caspian." He said, standing up. He then pointed to you. "Jade is my friend, she is not a Talmarine soldier either."

"Well then what are you two doing?" Nikabrik asked suddenly confused.

"Running away…" Caspian said taking your hand and leaning on the fire place.

"They were chasing us because…" you were unable to finish your thought. You were never really sure why Lord Miraz wanted you and…apparently Caspian dead. Caspian gave your hand a squeeze, indicating that he would explain.

"My uncle has always wanted my throne. I guess the only reason that I've lived this long is because he hasn't had an heir of his own. Now that he does, he doesn't need me. I suppose they thought they could get rid of me, and then frame Jade for my death." Caspian said looking at you apologetically. You smiled and squeezed his hand back, assuring him that it wasn't his fault.

"His Uncle thought I was a Narnian." you added, explaining your half of the story. "You see, I'm not from around here. I just kind of…appeared." You didn't want to really elaborate much. It would always put you in a sad mood, thinking about how you were so far away from home and lost in this new and dangerous world.

Trufflehunter and Nikabrik looked at each other with identical worried looks.

"Well…that changes things." Trufflehunter said.

"Yeah, it means we don't have to kill you ourselves." Nikabrik said to you. You didn't quite understand, but something seemed to spur within Caspian. He shot up from his seat and jerked you toward the door, pulling on his armor and handing you yours.

"Caspian…" you said uncertainly.

"We have to go." He said to you. "The Talmarine soldiers are still after us. We're not safe here…we have to keep moving. If they find us here, they will not hesitate to kill us."

You took in his words and realized that he was right. Following suit, you pulled on your armor, looking around to make sure that you weren't leaving anything behind. When you were all set, you nodded to Caspian, and you followed him towards the door.

"You can't just leave!" Trufflehunter said, stopping you and Caspian in your tracks. "You're meant to save us." he said helplessly. You and Caspian looked at each other with uneasiness. You really just wanted to leave

You and Caspian turned around and watched him unveil the lion horn that was wrapped in the cloth from last night. He then took the horn in his hands, cradling it like a newly born baby. You felt empty inside as you gazed into his helpless eyes.

"Don't you know what this is?"

"No…" Caspian said. "I was told to only sound it in my greatest need."

Trufflehunter sighed.

"What does it do?" you asked curiously.

"This is Queen Susan's horn. She was one among the Kings and Queens of Old, the mighty sons of Adam and daughters of Eve who protected Narnia for decades." He said. "This horn was said to be able to summon the Kings and Queens of Old, as well as call on all the creatures of Narnia for battle. It is a very magical horn…"

"Yeah, and now that you idiots blew the horn, the Kings and Queens of Old are probably lost in the forest somewhere with no clue as to why they're here." Nikiabrik snorted. "Just because you're dear little Uncle is out to kill you, it doesn't give you the right to use us Narnia's for protection. You think we're actually going to help you?"

"You don't have to…but I want to help you." Caspian said. This caught Nikabrik's attention.

"Excuse me?" he asked confused.

"I want to help you. I despise my Uncle, and I do not believe it is right what our people have done to your land. If you help me, I will be able to help you." Caspian pleaded. Nikabrik seemed to be deep in thought, until his disbelief came back. Trufflehunter, on the other hand, looked pleased.

"I find that hard to believe…" Nikabrik mumbled.

"Alright then… What we need to do now is find the other creatures of the forest who were summoned by the horn...that way, we can start building up an army. Let's go." Caspian said, grabbing your hand and leading you to the door once more.

"Wait, Caspian. Don't you think we should wait for the Kings and Queens of Old?" you asked.

"Yes, we should." said Trufflehunter in agreement.

Caspian, however, did not want to wait.

"They will eventually find us." He said with finality, pulling you out the door with him even though you protested.

"Oh, dear." Trufflehunter said worriedly. "Come on, Nikabrik. We must follow them." Nikabrik didn't look too pleased, but followed his friend out the door anyway.

"Alright…" Nikabrik growled, "but they better not try anything funny."

……………………………………………………………………

**Other POV**

"Sorry I am late, Gentlemen. I was not aware that the Counsel was in session." Lord Miraz said and he thundered into the middle of the Throne room and over to his seat.

"No need for apologies…you must be devastated by the loss of your dear nephew." said Lord Sopespian. **(He was the guy with the curly mustache and mini-afro. Goggle him if you don't know what I'm talking about…I don't want to reveal the ending for anyone.) **"And to think, he disappeared on the same night that you and your wife were blessed with a son." He said, eyeing Lord Miraz suspiciously.

"Will this madness have no end until all the seats in this room are empty?" another Lord spoke up, causing a commotion from the rest of the men.

Lord Miraz stood up at this. "Indeed, it is devastating, for the story is a tragic one. Do not jump to conclusions, my fellow Lords, for dear Prince Caspian was not murdered …he was captured! By Narnians!" he spat, causing even more commotion from the Lords.

"Oh, Miraz. When will you ever learn…we have been through this countless times." said Lord Sopespian.

"Such creatures do not exist!" shouted a Lord, and Lord Miraz snapped his head in his direction now.

"Oh really, now." He said.

He clapped his hands, calling forth General Glozelle who was waiting beside the door. The General nodded, opening the doors to reveal a dwarf with long reddish hair and short, knobby feet. His hands were bound and his mouth was gagged. All the Lords gasped in horror and amazement as the dwarf was pushed to the middle of the room by two guards.

"Impossible…" Lord Sopespian gasped.

"Quite the contrary, my dear Lord." said Lord Miraz, now gaining the room's complete attention and controlling the debate. He circled the poor little dwarf, who glared at him with his beady eyes. Lord Miraz was unfazed. "As you can see, we have been neglecting the duties that are forefathers had started- to rid this world of Narnians completely. And now…look where it has left us? Unprepared and kingless. Did I not tell you it was unwise to trust that wretched girl? Did I not tell you that we should have killed her while we had the chance? And look what happens! She fooled us all with her deceiving and familiar form, when she is really a Narnian at heart. She gained the Prince's trust and waited for the right time to capture him. That's what they are all doing!"

He then turned back to the dwarf and bent down to him so that he was eye level. "That's what they have been doing all along! They've been breeding under rocks like cockroaches …waiting for the right time to strike!" he said as he slapped the dwarf across the face so hard that his mouth gag came off.

The dwarf glared at him. "And you wonder why we don't like you."

Miraz stood back up. "Well I intend to strike back." He seethed. "We shall plan an invasion on Narnia immediately! They have captured our Prince and future King…I will not let such treachery go by unpunished under my rule! I order all of you to gather all your able-bodied men and report them to me at once! We must build up an army. I also order the immediate construction of a bridge over the main river that leads to the forest!" he yelled, as the rest of the Counsel shouting back in agreement.

He smiled…his plan was going perfectly.

"What about the girl?" asked a Lord.

"I want her dead! She has seduced our beloved Prince and taken him away. Who knows what she could be doing to him now?" he said. He then looked over to the dwarf. "Get rid of him."

And with a snap of his fingers, the guards who had brought him in grabbed him by the shoulders, pushing him out of the room.

Lord Miraz glared at his retreating form. "This means War."

**Ok, there you go! Another chapter complete. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Reviews are awesome by the way :) Thanks so much for all the support, it makes me happy!**

**Next Chapter will probably be out Wednesday, but I'll try to finish it by tomorrow.**

**Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11: That's What I'm Here For

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. 

**Ok, first of all, I just want to say that in no way am I bitter about my first negative review. I understand...it must happen a lot to all you guys as well when people get bored and think it's cool to insult other people's hard work. But, on the contrary, I would like to apologize to this person. They didn't really like all the cursing that my story had, and said that I'm trying to sound cool. Well, I apologize if you do not like the language. However, as you can see, there is only cursing in the first 2 or 3 chapters due to way I am trying to portray the characters of Ryan and Ben, as well as Jade's attitude when she is with them and when she is at home. As you can see, (and as I'm trying to show throughout the story) she becomes much happier and better spirited when she goes to Narnia. Sorry if I offended you with the language. And it might be a good idea to check the rating of the story before you read. It's not rated M just to scare people away, you know. **

**But, I would also like to take this time to thank everyone who is keeping up with my story. I've worked hard on the plot to make the store flow and all, I've written other books before (not published, just for fun!) and have taken writing classes, so I'm trying to put all those skills to use and make an interesting story. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it.**

**And I guess since I'm already writing, I'll do the next chapter too! So hopefully you all stayed up late tonight!**

**On with the story…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

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**Chapter 11: That's What I'm Here For**

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**Your POV **

You and Caspian had been walking through the woods for hours it seemed like. Since then, you hadn't found a single Narnian. You were quite annoyed with Caspian, you believed that you should have stayed where you were and waited for the Kings and Queens of Old to come. It was just plain stupid and careless to walk through unknown territory aimlessly.

It was really hot outside, and even though the action may have been a bit rash, you ripped off the bottom half of your long skirt so that it was now a short skirt that showed off your skinny legs. What did it matter…it was already ripped. Also, instead of carrying your armor jacket, you stung it over your shoulder; letting the sun's rays hit your exposed shoulders. You sighed in contentment as a cool breeze passed by, making you shiver from all the sweat that dripped down your body. Your long hair, which was now up in a high ponytail, swayed with the wind as it passed by.

"So, Jade," Caspian said a bit displeased. You two hadn't talked ever since you left. "What do you plan on doing if the enemy attacks?" he asked, his eyes scanning your exposed body. You straightened your skirt a bit and blushed when you noticed his gaze was lingering on your legs.

"I wouldn't have had to worry about that if we stayed where we were." You bit back, reluctantly putting your protective jacket back on. You instantly wished you didn't as your body temperature seemed to go up twenty degrees. You pouted, blowing your hovering bangs away from your sweaty forehead.

Looking out the corner of your eye, you spotted Caspian still staring at you. You turned to meet his gaze. "Happy?" you asked as you shrugged your shoulders referring to your now clad body. Caspian tore his gaze from your legs, coughing a 'yes' as his eyes decided to stare at the forest instead.

You smiled, inspecting him a bit further.

"Aren't you hot?" you asked, inwardly regretting your choice of words. You hoped Caspian wouldn't say something sarcastic back.

"Not in the least. I've been training for years…you get used to it." He replied. "Besides, your safety comes first."

Regretting your bitter attitude, you wanted to say something as equally heartfelt back to Caspian for his kind words. However, as you were about to speak, a rustle behind you drew you away from your thoughts. Caspian chuckled.

"We can hear you." He said out loud.

Just then, Trufflehunter and Nikabrik came out of their hiding spots behind two trees. Their heads were bent down in defeat from having their hiding spots being found out. You had a feeling that they were following you.

"I still think we should wait for the Kings and Queens of Old." Trufflehunter said. Caspian took your hand and started to walk away again. However, this time you pulled back.

"I think we should too, Caspian. Let's face it, we have no idea where we are going." You said.

Caspian looked a bit abashed that you wouldn't agree with him.

"Listen, Jade. I wouldn't be doing anything if I thought it would put us in danger." He said. "You don't understand, we are in serious danger. You underestimate my father's kingdom. It is more powerful than you think. We need to start building an army of our own now!"

Even though you still weren't completely convinced, you couldn't help but give in to his touch at the mention of his father. You stopped trying to pry away from his grasp and allowed him to continue to pull you along with him.

"Fine. Go on then. I'd like to see you two try to explain yourselves to the others. Especially the Minotaurs…they are very easily angered and I doubt you they would side with you." Nikabrik said as he and Trufflehunter followed you and Caspian.

"Minotaurs? They still exist?" Caspian asked.

"Yeah. Not to mention big!" Nikabrik said.

"Huge!" Trufflehunter said as they walked in front of you and Caspian.

"Well…what about Centuars? Do they still exist too?" Caspian asked as you two followed them.

"Of course." Said Trufflehunter.

"Well what about them?" Caspian asked. You thought he looked cute, asking so many questions like a little school boy with his face scrunched up in curiosity.

"Well, the centaurs will probably take your side but…there's not telling what the others will do." Trufflehunter said. Then Caspian stopped in his tracks.

"What about Aslan?" he asked. Nikabrik and Trufflehunter stopped.

"How do you know so much about us?" Nikabrik asked.

"Just stories." Caspian said. You then thought about the story that the Professor told you two. Alsan was the immortal ruler of Narnia who was granted his title by the founder of Narnia due to his wisdom. You wondered if you would ever meet him.

"Stories?" Tufflehunter asked bemused. "Your fathers told you stories of Narnia?"

"Not exactly." Caspian said, his tone becoming a bit more distant. "My Professor told us stories. Look…these are not questions you should be asking." Caspian said as he started to walk away again. He did not even bother to grab your hand this time as he continued to walk away.

"Oh, dear…was it something I said?" Trufflehunter asked, turning to you.

You watched as Caspian walked away, feeling his pain. You knew how much it must have hurt Caspian to lose his father, seeing as the same thing happened to you. You sighed and turned back to Trufflehunter.

"No, he's just…umm…it's just best not mention his father. Because, well…you see…" Trufflehunter put his hand up in understanding. He didn't need you to continue.

You were about to follow Caspian when Trufflehunter began tugging on your leg. You looked down at him and saw that his neck was outstretched and he looked very alert.

"What is it?" you asked. Caspian turned to you with concern when you said this.

"I smell human." Trufflehunter said.

"Them?" Nikabrik asked pointing toward you and Caspian. Trufflehunter shook his head.

"No. Them." He said pointing ahead all of you. Following his outstretched hand, you saw a bunch of Telmarine soldiers coming toward you. They formed a line, blocking the trail ahead of you. You started to panic when you saw that they were all armed with crossbows, pointed straight at you and Caspian.

"There they are!" you heard one of the soldiers say. Caspian, who was still a good distance ahead you, turned around and yelled at you.

"Run!"

And that's when the madness began. You started to run as fast as you could with Caspian behind you and Trufflehunter and Nikabrik beside you.

This oddly reminded you of that day when you were running away from Ryan and Ben. That was the day you came here…

Focusing back to the present, you ducked your head just in time, nearly missing an overhanging tree branch. Arrows were flying by every which way, barely missing you almost every time. You didn't think you had ever been more scared in your life. It was like a chase to the death, and all you could do was look ahead while you prayed that Caspian and your newly found friends were still close behind you.

Suddenly you heard a cry behind you. You turned around to see that Trufflehunter had been hit it the side with an arrow. Caspian had been right behind you, while Trufflehunter and Nikabrik had fallen a bit behind; mostly due to their short legs, you presumed. You were about to go help him when Caspian stopped you.

"No! You keep running, Jade. Get out of here! I'll go." And with that said, Caspian ran towards the wounded Trufflehunter. You waited for Nikabrik to catch up to you before running away again. You didn't want anyone to get left behind. However, you noted that Nikabrik would not run away with you. He watched the exchange between Caspian and Trufflehunter, hoping that his friend would return back safe.

You spotted a large tree ahead and darted behind it so you would be able to see if Caspian was going to be alright while staying safely protected at the same time.

……………………………………………………………………

Caspian swiftly darted over to Trufflehunter's side, kneeling down beside him while evading all the oncoming arrows.

"Here, take it. It's more important than I am." Trufflehunter said handing Caspian Queen Susan's horn. Caspian took it and tied it to his belt. He looked up to see that the soldiers were getting closer, and began to panic due to the fact that he was only armed with a sword. He would not be able to fight the soldiers with their long range weapons.

But suddenly, much to everyone's surprise, the Telmarine soldiers seemed to be getting killed off by an unseen enemy. But even though it was unseen, you could detect a ripple in the tall grass that showed the direction of its next attack. One by one the soldiers would drop. Caspian looked back at you with a confused look. You shrugged your shoulder, looking as confused as he was.

Taking advantage of the mysterious sniper, Caspian swung Trufflehunter over his shoulder and began running back to you and Nikabrik.

"Take him." Caspian said handing the badger to Nikabrik. Then Caspian turned around to see that there was only one soldier left. He unsheathed his sword and began to advance on the lone soldier.

But the soldier wasn't paying attention to Caspian approaching at all. Throwing away his crossbow, the last standing soldier drew his sword and began chopping the grass around him. He carelessly swung his sword violently, and Caspian kept a same distance. He was trying to kill the mysterious creature that had killed the other soldiers, but was working to no avail. And with the blink of an eye, he soon met the fate of his fellow soldier, falling to a heap into the tall grass.

You let out a breath of relief, but then noticed that the mysterious killer was now making its way to Caspian.

Caspian got into his fighting stance and prepared for the ripple that was about to attack him, but the look on his face proved that he was not in the least prepared. How could he kill and enemy that he could not see?

"Caspian! Look out!" You screamed as something jumped up and knocked Caspian on his back. You began running towards him at full. You didn't care if you didn't have any weapons, you would do anything possible to protect him.

However, when the thing that had been the cause of all the commotion came into your range of view, you stopped dead in your tracks. To your surprise, it was a mouse with a sword.

"_Ok…wow…"_

You wanted to laugh. Caspian got knocked down by…a mouse. You would never let him live this down. As for the mouse…he looked so…

"_Cute!! Aw…look at his little sword and the little feather behind his ear! How precious!" _you thought. **(As you can tell, Reepicheep is my absolute FAVORITE character! Well…next to Caspian that is :)**

It took all of your self-control to not run over to the little critter and squeeze the life out of him. He was, after all, the cause of all the soldier's deaths. And from the looks of it, he seemed to consider Caspian an enemy as well.

"Choose your last words carefully, Telmarine." The mouse said pointing his tiny, yet, lethal, sword at Caspian. Caspian was out of breath and could only look at the mouse with shock.

"You are a mouse." He bluntly stated. The mouse sighed in frustration.

"I was hoping for something more…original." He said disappointedly as he slumped his shoulders. "Well, pick up your sword." The mouse said as he straightened up and continued to point the sword at Caspian.

Caspian looked at his sword, then to you, and then back to the mouse.

"No thank you." Caspian said, abiding by the mouse's warning and choosing his words wisely.

"Come now, I won't fight an unarmed man." The mouse said nonchalantly as he continued to brandish his sword.

"Which is why I might live longer if I choose not to cross blades with you, noble mouse." Caspian stated a bit amusedly.

Again, you resisted the urge to laugh and to use the mouse as your new stuffed animal.

"I said I wouldn't fight you. I didn't say I would let you live." The mouse said, raising his voice and pointed the sword closer at Caspian.

"That's enough, Reepicheep." Trufflehunter gasped out. His voice was weak, and his breathing irregular due to the arrow that was still pierced in his side.

You ran over to his side and took him out of Nikabrik's arms, letting him lay down in your lap. You began to pet him and scratch behind his ears, trying to ease the pain. It was all that you could do to repay him for saving your life from before.

"Trufflehunter! You better have a good excuse for this untimely interruption." The mouse named Reepicheep said, eyeing you.

You couldn't help but inwardly squeal at his totally cute name.

"He doesn't, kill him." Nikabrik said. You gave him a dirty look and shoved him away, causing him to fall over on his back. You really didn't like him.

"He's the one that blew the horn." Trufflehunter was able to gasp out.

Reepicheep looked speechless. "What…" he whispered in a barely audible voice. He instantly jumped off of Caspian's form as you all heard the approaching sound of hoofs.

"_Oh no…more Telmarine soldiers…"_ you thought worriedly. You turned around, only to be greeted with an even more frightening sight.

"Well, then let him come forward and show it to us." A centaur said emerging from the trees with a few other centaurs behind him. He was huge, with dark skin and long braided hair. His eyes, however, were breathtaking.

Caspian was at your side in an instant, ready to protect you from the centaurs that were heavily armed with large swords. He stood in front of you, handing you his sword behind his back. He then reached toward his waist, pulling the horn that was tied to his belt.

He outstretched his arm so that the horn was in plain view for all the centaurs to see. They looked amazed.

"So…it is true…" Glenstorm said quietly. An awkward silence followed

"So…what brings you to these parts, Glenstorm?" Nikabrik asked. **(In case you don't know, Glenstorm is the head Centaur.)**

"We are headed to The Clearing." He said in a proud voice. "All the Narnians are gathering there. We were told many years ago that it was there that we all would gather if the horn was to ever be blown. And now that is has, we must go and be reunited with our fellow bretherin." He said, his gaze lingering on you as he spoke. You did not like the way he was looking at you, it was if he could see something that no one else, not even yourself, could.

"Very well, then." Caspian said as he stepped forward to Glenstorm. "Please…take us to this clearing. I am, very well, the one who blew the horn, and have something I need to tell your fellow Narnias."

Glenstorm nodded to Caspian, looking at him with neither hatred nor pleasure. He looked indifferent. And without saying a word, he continued walking into the direction of the clearing with you, Caspian, Trufflehunter, and Nikabrik in tow.

……………………………………………………………………

You and Caspian followed the centaurs deeper into the forest. It was nightfall by the time you got to a clearing where the Narnians had gathered. You and Caspian stood at the center of the clearing and looked up at the many lights and creature that littered the space around you both. You felt very small and insignificant compared to the crowd, and Caspian took your hand as he noticed your nervousness.

Soon enough, the Narnians, became outraged as they saw you and Caspian, especially Caspian since he was the one holding the horn. Caspian instantly pulled you behind him so that he could protect you incase anything went wrong. You placed your hands on his back lovingly, giving him the courage he needed.

You both stood in silence until the cries of outrage died down and became more audible.

"The only thing this horn proves is that the Telmarines have stolen yet another thing from us!" Nikabrik yelled into the crowd.

You let out a low growl that only Caspian could here.

"_I knew that little twit would turn against us!"_ you thought viciously, with a killing intent focused on a particular little dwarf.

"We haven't stolen anything." Caspian helplessly yelled back at Nikabrik. It didn't seem like anyone was on your side, and things weren't looking good for you and Caspian. How could you possibly persuade the crowd… you had no idea what the Narnians had been through.

"Haven't stolen anything?" one of the Narnians asked sarcatically.

"Shall we list the things the Telmarines have stolen from us?" another said.

"Our homes." A woman's voice cried.

"Our freedom." Another voice said said.

"Our lives." Another Narnian shouted out.

"You would hold me accountable for the crimes of my people?" Caspian asked reaching behind his back and taking your hand. With one hand still on his back, you leaned you body up against his a bit to reassure him that everything would be alright. Or at least…you hoped.

"Accountable and punishable!" Nikabrik yelled back.

"Now, now, Nikabrik." Trufflehunter said, coming to your aid. You felt a bit relieved. "Some of you may have forgotten, but we badgers remember well that Narnia was never right unless ruled by a son of Adam and daughter of Eve. And let us not forget, Nikabrik, that it was your people who sided with the White Witch in the War many years ago." This caused more outrage from the crowd.

"Narnia was under better control with the White Witch than it could ever be with…their lot!" he said in a bitter voice. However, now the crowd seemed to be turning against him.

"So, are you suggesting that we go against Aslan now?" a voice asked aloud.

"No!" said Nikabrik, helplessly trying to keep the raging crowd on his side. However, he was slowly losing the battle against Trufflehunter. "They are Telmarines! Why would we want them as our King and Queen?" Nikabrik cried out.

"Because we can help you!" Caspian said and the crowed began to grow quiet. Before he spoke again, Caspian looked back at you. Your eyes locked for a moment. You smiled at him for his bravery and gave his hand a squeeze. He then turned back to the now silent crowd, whose attention he now had.

"Listen…beyond these woods I am a Prince! And I can bring peace between us." He said. "The Telmarine throne is rightfully mine! If you help me get back it back, I will give you back your land…I promise!"

"Really? Do you really think so? Do you really think there could be peace between us?" a jittery squirrel asked.

You resisted the urge to snort at the second cutest thing in the forest.

"_ADD much?"_ you thought.

Caspian seemed to be amused as well, but he hid it very professionally.

"Two days ago, I did not believe in dwarfs…or centaurs. And my friend, Jade…Jade did not even know this world existed. And yet…here you are now …all standing before us. It is strength and numbers that we Telmarines could never have imagined. Together…" he said holding up his hand which held the horn, "we can take back what is ours!"

There was an approving murmur circulating throughout the crowd.

"It is true." A deep voice said. Soon you saw that Glenstorm walking towards you two, his eyes giving you that uneasy feeling like they had earlier.

"I watch the skies…for it is mine to watch, as well as it is yours to remember, Trufflehunter. The God of War and the Goddess of Peace, their planets are aligned. Such an occurrence has revealed that a time for peace is approaching." He walked back to his place in the clearing. "And here…a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve have come to offer us back our freedom. If you will lead us…my sons and I offer you our swords." Glenstorm said, lifting up his sword. Soon all the Centaurs and Narnians lifted their swords and weapons, signaling that they were on your side.

"We will need to gather weapons and find shelter." Caspian said to the Centaur. "And we will need to find more soldiers as well. Every little bit counts."

"Very well, then." said Glenstorm. "Let us make our way to Aslan's How. As far as shelter goes, we will be safe there.

With those final words, the creatures of the forest began to file out, following Glenstorm as he led the way to Aslan's How.

While everyone was scurrying after Glenstorm, Caspian turned to you, a relieved smile on his face. You smiled back, placing your hands on his chest.

"Your hearts racing." You laughed, causing Caspian to smile and laugh with you.

"That was awful…" he said as he wrapped his arms around your waist and leaned his forehead against yours. You could feel your body temperature rising. "I don't think I could have done that if you weren't there with me." He said. You smiled once more.

"That's what I'm here for." You whispered.

Caspian stared into you eyes lovingly, and you returned the intensity. Getting chased by Telmarines and being threatened by Narnians was worth it, you thought, as long as you could stare into Caspian's eyes at the end of the day.

"And I'll always be here…I promise." You said.

You only noticed now how close Caspian's face was to yours.

"As will I…" he said.

You could feel his hot breath on your lips, and a tingling sensation ran through your body, giving you goose-bumps. Caspian bent his head down to yours, his eyes now right in front of you…your lips only mere inches apart. He gently grasped the back of your neck with one hand, while the other remained wrapped around your waist.

You didn't not protest…not in the least bit.

Closing your eyes, you anxiously waited for him to begin what you had always wanted him to start.

However…

"Now, now dears! Don't fall behind!" Trufflehunter's voice rang out through the clearing, causing you and Caspian to break apart. You both looked at him as if you had just been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Trufflehunter was smirking and had a knowing gleam in his eyes, and he turned back around, motioning for you to follow him.

You and Caspian locked eyes once more, causing you both to immediately advert your gaze away from each other in embarrassment.

After a few awkward seconds ticked by, you both began to silently follow Trufflehunter and the others…Caspian's hand automatically finding yours somewhere along the way.

……………………………………………………………………

**Somewhere On the Other Side of the Forest…**

"Oh no… You've got to be kidding me…You're it?"

……………………………………………………………………

**Alright! That's my longest chapter yet! Again, thanks to all you who have been following my story, and sorry to those of you who don't appreciate the language in the earlier chapters.**

**Next chapter will probably be out Wednesday. And it's the Chapter where you finally meet the Pensieves! Also…if you already didn't guess, I'm leaving the SusanXCaspian romance out (seeing as it wasn't supposed to happen and wasn't even in the books!!)**

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**And for those who review after just about every chapter… you're awesome! I love you! **


	12. Chapter 12: The Kings and Queens of Old

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked the last chapter…even though they didn't kiss…don't kill me! **

**And I'm sorry for being really late tonight. My mom is a teacher and needed me to type up all her finals :( ugh it took forever.**

**Thanks for all the supportive reviews about the negative one I recently received. They meant a lot, really.**

**But anyways, I know most of you have anxiously been awaiting the arrival of the Pensieves and now HERE THEY ARE! You finally meet them! Enjoy!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 12: The Kings and Queens of Old**

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**Your POV **

You were walking beside Reepicheep while he was animatedly talking about all his heroic adventures. Even though he probably wanted to speak louder and act out all the battle scenes, his breathing and limbs were restrained due to the pouch filled with arrows that he was dragging over his tiny shoulder.

When you had all reached Aslan's How two nights ago, Caspian had suggested a secret night-raid on the Telmarine soldiers who had made base by the river. Much to everyone's displeasure, they were building a bridge over the river. This could not be good, Caspian had told you, for that meant that they were planning on transporting all their troops and the large catapults soon. You didn't have much time.

Caspian had spent half the night working on the plan while you slept peacefully beside him. Fortunately, everything had gone well last night and you all were now making your way back to the How with ten wagons worth of weapons. The soldiers would sure be in for a surprise when they woke up.

It was still very early in the morning, probably around 7 or 8, and your tiredness made it much more difficult to support the five swords that you were carrying. However, you ignored your discomfort. Everyone was doing their part in transporting the overload of weapons; heck, the Minotaurs were carrying about 15 weapons each. You couldn't complain.

Looking up ahead of you, you saw Glenstorm leading the troops from the front. He was a very good leader, and all the Narnians seemed to respect him very much. But then a huge Minotaur began walking in front of you, blocking your view.

Just then, a thump on the ground signaled that Reepicheep had finally collapsed from the weight of the bag of arrows, trying desperately to pull it along with him. You giggled and knelt down beside him, relieving him of the weight and slinging it over your shoulder instead. He looked thankful, yet displeased with himself at the same time.

"Kind maiden…I am ashamed to burden you with the weight I was meant to bear." He said with his low, noble voice.

"Don't worry about it, Reepicheep. I'm fine." You said, but he still hung his head low. "You can always make it up to me somehow." His ears perked up, and you could tell that what you said put him in a better mood.

"Of course, dear maiden. I eagerly await the day when I am able to return your favor." He said as he bowed his head. You smiled and watched him run up to his other mouse friends, aiding the ones who were having trouble like he had been.

You found it much more quiet and boring now that Reepicheep was gone, and you felt yourself falling behind due to the extra weight. You turned around and saw that Caspian was close behind you. Like the leader should be, he was keeping watch from the back, making sure that none of the soldiers were following you. It looked like he was in a heated discussion with one of the centaurs, so you turned back around and tried to keep up with the rest of the troops.

However, not too long after you turned around, you heard a rustle in the bushes and a battle cry that belonged to Caspian. You whipped your head back around in time to see the clashing of two swords, Caspian's one blocking the other's attack that was clearly aiming to slice your head off.

You let out a startled gasp and backed away in fear. You looked at the second sword's wielder and saw that it was a boy about your age with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He was glaring daggers with Caspian, whose beautiful brown eyes were now narrowed in anger as well.

Pulling their swords apart, they began to battle viciously. All you could do was helplessly watch from the sidelines.

Your hands flew up to cover your mouth in horror when the blonde haired boy knocked Caspian's sword out of his grasp, and the many swords you were holding fell to the ground with a bunch of loud clangs.

"No, no, no…" you mumbled to yourself as the battle took a bad turn for Caspian.

The other boy took a dangerous swing at Caspian, and for a split second you thought your heart had stopped beating. However, Caspian had dodged the blond haired boy's attack and ducked just in time, causing the boy's sword to get stuck in a tree trunk. You breathed a sign of relief when Caspian stood back up, his head still attached to his body. As the boy tried to pry his sword from the tree, Caspian took this time to kick the boy in gut and sent him flying. The boy landed on the ground a few feet in font of you, and Caspian began to try to get the sword out of the tree himself.

Unfortunately, the boy shook off his blow to his stomach and got to his feet, the fingers of his right hand curling around a rock as he got up. His ragged breathing told you that he was out for Caspian's blood, ready to smash the rock into his opponent's face.

Caspian, who was failing to pry the sword from the tree's depths, was left defenseless and the boy started to charge at him, rock held up high and ready to strike.

As if time had stopped, you lost all sense of the present as your mind raced back to that night on the tower with Caspian and his Professor. The words of the first story his Professor had read that night burned into your memory.

"…_The beast drew out the weapon with his jaws,  
and rushed after Adonis, who turned and ran; but the boar  
overtook him, and buried his tusks in his side, and stretched him  
dying upon the plain…"_

"No…" you whispered. Your mind clicked…and you could not let this happen.

You could not bear to watch Caspian meet the same fate as Adonis. You could not bear to watch him lose his life in a battle to protect you. You could not bear to watch the enemy bash Caspian's head with the rock until he eventually lie dead. You could not… no…_would not_ watch this happen… you would not stand around and let this happen!

With all traces of fear and helplessness escaping from your system, you flung the bag of arrows off your shoulder and rushed after the boy.

"NO!" you screamed, your hands latching onto his arm that held the stone. He turned around and glared at you. But before he could try to escape or before Caspian could come to your aid, a soft feminine voice stopped all of you in your tracks.

"Stop!" All eyes were now focused on a young girl with long brown hair, her eyebrows knitted in worry. She was dressed in such royal clothing…yet she did not even look a day older than twelve. **(I read the books a long time ago and totally forget how old they all are.)**

And the sight of the little girl, the boy dropped his arm that held the rock. You followed suit, releasing his hand from your grasp. He stared at you for a moment, glaring at the hand which had held him back. He then inspected Caspian curiously, taking note at how all the Narnians had their weapons ready to fight for him.

"Prince Caspian?" he asked.

"Yes. And who are you?" Caspian asked

"Peter!" yelled another feminine voice. Sure enough, a girl about your age appeared out of the woods. She was very pretty, and looked like the older version of the little girl. A young boy also appeared right after her. He was skinny with black hair, and bore no resemblances to his siblings save for the freckles on his face.

"Peter?" Caspian said, as he gave the sword in the tree a powerful tug. Finally freeing the sword, he inspected the hilt which bore the carvings of a lion on it, with his name on it as well in golden letter. "High King Peter?" he asked.

"I believe you called." Peter said, straightening up. His tone was very arrogant, and you were still waiting for an apology.

"_Oh yeah…by the way…sorry for trying to kill you and all. No hard feelings right?"_ you thought sarcastically.

"Well yes, but I was expecting you to be a bit…older." Caspian said as he eyed the young girl and boy.

"Well, if that's how you feel then we can come back in a few years." Peter said stiffly and turned to walk away.

"_You can come back never."_ You thought. It's not that you hated Peter, it's just that you weren't too fond of the first impression he made. Plus, he wasn't being very polite to Caspian.

"No!" Caspian said desperately, causing Peter to turn around in amusement. Of course he had only been joking. "It's alright. It's just…you're not exactly what I expected." Caspian said looking at the group and then to you. You told him with your eyes that you agreed with him and shared his disbelief.

"_No way is that little girl a Queen…she's not even a teenager yet!"_

"Neither are you." said the darker haired boy who looked from Caspian to you. "I'm King Edmund…and you are?" he asked you.

"I'm Jade." You said meekly, adverting your eyes from everyone's gaze on you. With Caspian being a Prince and these kids obviously the Kings and Queens of Old, you felt a bit insignificant.

After you introduced yourself, you felt a tickling sensation run up your leg and then your back. It stopped at your shoulder where Reepicheep now stood, comfortably perched by your neck. He then took a bow in the direction of High King Peter.

"We have anxiously awaited your return, my liege…it is an honor to serve you." You instantly wanted to shove him back off for being so nice to Peter. Your attitude was most likely due to your life back in America, where royalty didn't exist and you didn't have to address anyone as "your majesty".

You noticed that most of the Narnians were now bowing to King Peter, pledging their allegiance as well. You felt kind of bad for Caspian. He had been working so hard on plans and protecting everyone, and now all his hard work would be going to waste because the Kings and Queens of Old would most likely give the orders from now on.

"Oh my gosh! He is so cute!" You heard the little girl whisper to her older sister, eyeing Reepicheep lovingly. This brought a grin to your face. You knew Reepicheep wouldn't take too kindly to those words.

"Who said that!?" Reepicheep yelled, drawing his sword and jumping atop your head. He was turning around every which way, searching for the voice of whoever dare call him cute. You giggled once more as Reepicheep's tiny feet tickled the top of your head.

"Sorry." Lucy said quietly after some time. She looked down at the ground as she played with her fingers. Reepicheep's eyes and tone immediately softened when he saw that he upset the young girl.

"Oh, your majesty." Reepicheep said as he lowered his sword a bit. "My apologies. I would like to think that such a word as…courageous, courteous or…chivalrous would be more fitting for a noble and strong warrior such as myself." He said as he picked his sword back up and began to fight an imaginary opponent.

Peter looked at him, pleased.

"Well…at least we know some of you can handle a sword." He said, looking towards Caspian with an air of superiority. You could tell he was trying to discretely insult Caspian's fighting abilities, even though they were pretty much easily matched. "Cause we're going to need every sword we can get."

"_No shit."_ You thought. _"What does it look like we've been doing…oh me? I was just carrying 5 heavy swords along for fun!"_

"Well then…" Caspian said handing Peter his sword, "you'll be wanting yours back." He said in attempt to insult Peter as well. You wanted to laugh. It was quite obvious that these two didn't like each other…and it was funny to look at them with their calm exteriors when they probably wanted to rip each other to shreds on the inside.

"_Woo! First row seats to the catfight. My money's on Caspian."_

Peter was about to grab the sword, but Caspian pulled it out of his reach the last second and looked at you.

"That is, unless you're going to try to kill my friends again." He said. You felt a warm sensation in your heart as Caspian stood up for you.

However, Peter rudely grabbed the sword, mumbling an "I won't" as he walked back to his siblings.

Caspian went off to the side and picked his sword back up. You walked over to him after Reepicheep hopped of your shoulder and placed your hand on his arm to comfort and thank him.

"I guess I'm not calling the shots anymore." He said after sheathing his sword and taking ahold of your hand that was on his arm. You could tell that he was a bit disappointed, seeing how he was used to being treated like royalty back at his Castle.

"It's alright, Caspian…they don't seem _all_ that bad." You comforted. "Plus, they could always use advice from an intelligent Prince such as yourself." You said dramatically with a fake English accent, causing Caspian to laugh.

"Very funny." He said.

"I'm serious though." You said, looking him sternly in the eye. "Even though he's acting like a royal jerk, we're on the same side now. You should go and talk to him about…whatever boys talk about." You said letting go of his hand and pushing him forward. He did not object, and gave you a quick wink before going up to Peter's side.

Almost as quickly as he was gone, the two girls…I mean queens were at your side.

"Hi, I'm Lucy!" said the little girl excitedly.

"And I'm Susan." said her older sister in a very mature voice.

"Nice to meet you…your majesties." You said a bit uncomfortably. Susan snorted.

"Oh, please. You can call us by our names." She said casually.

"Well…I doubt that will sit well with your brother." You said as you stared up ahead at Peter.

"Oh, Peter?" Susan said, understanding your dilemma. "No, he's fine. Don't worry. It's just…well…he's never really been the same since we left here…and then came back."

"You left?" you asked confused. You had always thought that they had died or something…Caspian never told you much of what he knew from his Professor. "Where did you go to? And how'd you come back?"

"Well, you see…" Susan began, "you're not going to believe this, but the first time we got here…we came through a wardrobe. It was weird…it was like a portal to a new world."

"It was incredible…" Lucy said, her eyes twinkled as she basked in the memories, "it was only a year ago that we were still living here. We were all so old back then…"

You were very confused at this point. Did these people age backwards or something? It was all so strange.

"I don't really understand." You said. Lucy giggled at your confusion.

"I didn't expect you would, it's all so complicated, really." She said. "You see…Narnian time works differently." You listened intently as they began to explain.

"We weren't originally from here. We lived in this place called England ever since we were young. But then, a huge war started, and we were forced to live in the countryside of England. The house we lived in was huge, and we found this wardrobe in one of the rooms that led to here. It truly was incredible." She said with a smile.

"We loved it so much here, and we didn't want to go back. We lived here for years and years as Kings and Queens. But then…" Lucy's voice became sadder as she continued, "I guess we accidentally stumbled back through the wardrobe one day…and went back to England. We tried to get back…but we couldn't. We were stuck as kids again."

"Wait…why did you turn back into kids?" you asked.

"Well, like I said before, time works differently here in Narnia. For example, ever since we left here, we had only been living in England for about a year until we were called back again by the horn. And while only a year had passed for us…here at Narnia, 1300 years have gone by." Lucy explained.

"Wow…" you said in complete shock. That was quite a story. Your brain was having a hard time processing all the information.

"Yeah…it's complicated." Susan said. "It was hard to deal with…losing our home here. Especially for Peter. Technically, we're over 1300 years old, not to mention we should be adults. He never really got used to it." She said sadly, but suddenly cheered up a bit. "But, it's good to be back! Sure beats being in England."

"_WOW! Hold up…brain working now!"_

"Woah, woah, hold on." You said, stopping in your tracks. Lucy and Susan looked at you oddly. "You said you were from England?" they nodded. "Oh wow…as in…England England? Umm… like with the tea and the British accents? Europe England…as in…on planet Earth?" you asked all in one breathe.

Susan and Lucy looked at each other wide-eyed before looking back at you. Their eyes shone with amazement.

"You know what we're talking about?!" Lucy asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah! I'm from America." You explained.

"Wow…you mean you don't live here? How did you get here then?" Lucy asked again.

"I…I really don't know. I was running through the woods and came here…through a tree." You said. They didn't seem too shocked, seeing as they had probably been through similar experiences. You were relieved to finally have people your age who you could relate to. "I guess it was like that wardrobe…a portal to a new world."

"That's incredible! Hey, Edmund! Come over here! Quick!" Lucy called to her brother who immediately ran over to the three of you.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"It's Jade! She's from America!" she said as she jumped up and down. "She came here like we did! Isn't that amazing!?"

Edmund's jaw dropped and his eyes popped.

"You have a magical wardrobe?" he asked, mouth still agape.

"No, more like a magical tree." You said, causing Lucy to giggle.

"I can't believe it…" said Edmund, still shocked.

"Me either." You said. Your head then shot up, remembering a very important fact. "Hey…I was supposed to be going to college in England this fall! Wow! If we all hadn't come here, I would never have met you…and if I were to ever pass you by some day in the future, we'd never be able to recognize each other! But now we will!" You said excitedly, but the siblings didn't seem to share your excitement. You settled down and studied their worried faces.

"What's wrong?" you asked. They all looked at each other before Susan turned back to you.

"Nothing's wrong…it's just that…why would you want to live in England when you'd be more than safe in America. Shouldn't you be afraid of living in England only a year after The Blitz? I doubt your parents would allow you to leave."** (The Blitz was the bombing of the Germans on England. It's what was happening at the beginning of the first Narnia movie when they were all hiding.)**

"The Blitz?" You asked them. "But…that happened years ago." You said in a quiet voice.

They all looked at you weirdly.

"No…not for us." Lucy said equally as quietly.

"But…you said a huge war started." You defended.

"Yeah, World War II." Said Susan curiously.

**BAM**

"_WHAT?!"_ you had officially freaked. _ "That war happened almost 50 years ago!"_

"World War II…" You repeated, your thoughts trailing off. "That's…impossible…" you whispered.

"Jade?" Lucy asked worriedly, staring at your spaced of exterior. "Jade? What's impossible?" Lucy asked again.

You blinked your eyes a few times, trying to focus your mind to work properly. It was currently stuck in shock. Your eyes darted to Lucy, whos voice had rescued you from the depths of your mind.

"Tell me." You demanded nervously. "Back in England…what year is it?" you asked, even though you had a good idea of what they were going to say. Your heart beat irregularly in your chest, knowing that your hunch was probably right yet at the same time praying you were wrong.

"1940 I believe." Lucy said curtly.

The shock that was evidently present on your face caused Lucy to repeat your question back to you.

"Why, Jade." She asked, taking a few steps closer to you. "What year is it for you in America?"

"…2008."

**Ooooooohhhhhh! Time difference! Creepy!**

**Again, I'm really sorry for putting this in so late…forgive me!**

**And don't get me wrong, I'm not a Peter hater. But for all of those who are, you have to admit he was a bit mean in the movie. Don't worry it will all get better, you guys will be friends soon! :)**

**Next chapter will be up Friday, sorry, I'm busy tomorrow. But thanks everyone for reading and DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW**


	13. Chapter 13: Life of a Warrior

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked the last chapter, I know a lot of you were anxious to meet the Pevensies. I can't begin to explain how excited I am that so many people are reading and reviewing my story! I planned everything out in an outline last night so I can't wait to write all the future chapters!**

**And as usual, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing. They really put me in the mood to write more…like now! It turns out my plans for today fell through, giving me more time to write!**

**Ok that's all so, on with the story…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 13: Life of a Warrior**

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**Your POV**

"So you're like…from the future!" Edmund said excitedly once everyone's shock wore off. He looked at you expectantly.

"Umm…I don't know…I guess so." You replied.

"Or," said Lucy, "Maybe we're from the past." She said. You were impressed. For a young girl, she was truly wise and mature for her age. Bu then again…she was over 1300 years old.

"_That's so cool, though."_ You thought. _"It's like staying young forever…"_

"Or maybe," Edmund said with a twinkle in his eye, "you're from the present future, and we're from the future present past…and the time differences switched…so…seeing as you had been here for a few days before we came…a few days for you would be about 50 years for us…and they you called us…and now we're here…all in the past present!" he triumphantly finished, while you and his siblings stared at him in disbelief.

"_Yeah…I definitely caught none of that."_ You thought.

"Or maybe you can just shut up." Said Susan as she thumped him on the head and ruffled his hair. You and Lucy laughed as Edmund messed up Susan's hair in return, causing her to shriek with annoyance and amusement.

"Having fun?" a voice asked from behind, causing Susan and Edmund to stop fooling around. Of course, no one voice could be more of a joy-kill than Peter's. You noted how his siblings seemed to have a high respect for him, seeing as how they all stopped what they were doing at the sound of his voice. Caspian was beside him looking a bit flustered.

"_They must have hit it off…"_ You thought sarcastically.

"Yes! We were just talking about how Jade is from the future!" Edmund said.

"Or that we're from the past." Lucy added. She then took on the responsibility of telling Peter all about how you came here and how you were from the year 2008 while they were from 1940.

"Isn't that amazing?" she asked as she finished. Peter looked a bit interested, even though he tried to hide.

"To say the least, I'm not surprised." He said, trying to sound mature. "After living here in Narnia for nearly my whole life, I began to understand things a bit more differently. The unexplainable became a bit more…predictable. I'm not saying that I understood what they meant, but rather why they happened."

You hated to admit it, but you were quite impressed with how eloquently Peter spoke.

"And they happened because…" Edmund asked.

"They happened because they were meant to happen." He said. You did not quite follow. "Narnia is way different that where we are from. Everything happens for a reason here, it's just the Narnia way of life. Why do you think time moves so quickly here? It's because this world is not burdened with useless happenings nor unneeded wars. No…Narnia does not waste such precious time nor string it out until it cannot be stretched any longer. Here at Narnia, time is not wasted, allowing life and time to move on as it should. So really…time here is moving at a normal pace, whereas time in England…and America moves slower." He finished.

Everyone was silent after Peter's speech, digesting the words in order to either find a rebuttal to his theory or agree with it. Susan and Lucy looked deep in thought, whereas Edmund didn't look like he was interested at all. You looked at Caspian to see he was still a bit flustered, probably trying to disprove Peter's point so that he could stop acting like such a know-it-all.

You, on the other hand, had no idea what to think. Coming to this world was weird enough, and now you had to discover the mysterious of Narnia and time? And quite frankly, you didn't want to. No matter how hard people may try, you believed that the deepest secrets of life could never be unveiled. It was best to leave them untouched, for if they were ever discovered, life may not seem as interesting. It would be kind of like…being an actor or actress in one of your favorite movies. Watching a new movie is so exciting, because it seems so real and it feels like all scenes are really happening. However, if you played a part in the movie and then watched it when it was done, it would not seem so exciting because you knew what was going to happen and you would know that it was not real. That's why you found it more interesting to just let things happen as they may and not question them.

"You speak words wiser than your years, Your Majesty." Came a deep voice that broke you all free of your thoughts. You looked to your left to see Glenstorm beside you, gazing up to the heavens as he spoke. "However, you must understand that your words are those of opinion, not of fact. So do not preach them as if they are words of truth."

Peter looked a bit embarrassed at these words, and Glenstorm continued.

"While your thoughts may be of high caliber and wisdom, it is foolish for a High King such as yourself to not have an open mind. As a leader, you must stand for the open air and possibilities of nature, and against the finality in truth. You cannot look on any such word or statement as closing your quest for the truth because life stands for no particular results. With experience, there is always something new to consider." He said wisely, his gaze still steadied on the heavens.

It was then that you realized that you truly knew nothing.

"Do not take these words harshly. They are meant to teach and discipline…not to admonish." He said, trying not to make Peter feel as if he was being singled out. "It is far braver and nobler for a man to voice his opinions instead of keeping his thoughts to himself."

These words caused Peter to give a weak smile, but you thought that he still looked a bit upset.

"Then if you don't mind, wise Glenstorm, would you care to tell us your thoughts on the matters of time and the unexplainable?" Lucy asked politely. You ears perked up, intent on listening to more wise words from the centaur.

Glenstorm looked at the little girl before gazing back into the sky, whose sun was now beginning to shine more brightly as morning turned into afternoon.

"Many people believe, such as yourselves, that we are objects set in place as time goes by. I, however, believe the opposite." He said. "I believe that time stands still, and we are mere objects moving through it." He said right before he walked away, leaving the six of you to your thoughts.

His words instantly spurred a discussion between Lucy and Susan as they continued to discuss the happenings of the time difference. They seemed to be the only two out of all of you who still wanted to discuss the mystery.

Caspian seemed to be continuing to take your advice and he had now moved onto Edmund, to get to know him better, who shared his inability to understand things right away. Not that they were stupid or anything…but you had noted how you did most of the talking on the tower that night with the Professor and that Caspian had only interjected after hearing you explain the stories first. You figured that he would get along better with Edmund as you listened to how they were currently talking to each other like brothers.

You thought about walking over to Glenstorm and continuing the debate he started until you saw a certain Pensieve who was walking all by himself. He didn't look sad, but rather…a bit disappointed.

You remembered your discussion with Susan about how Peter had never been the same since they left Narnia. It must have been hard for him to live half his life as a king ruling over all Narnia, and then to go back to England were he was forced to change back teenager and was probably treated as such. He was like a 35 year old stuck in a 19 year old body. That was a pretty good reason to be pissed off…but he didn't have to act so arrogant about it.

Taking your own words to heart, you decided that the best thing to do would be to go over and talk to him as Caspian had. You should at least _try _to get along.

"You know," you said, popping in beside him, "they say criticism is the highest form of flattery."

He looked over at you weirdly. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"I said criticism is the highest form of flattery." You repeated. He looked at you with raised eyebrows, clearly in disbelief. "It's true. If you think about it, if someone were to ever completely agree with you, then they wouldn't really be taking the time to think for themselves. Because everyone's mind works differently…and no two people could possibly share the same exact opinion. So, if you look at it this way, if someone were to ever analyze your opinion, it means that they respect you… because they obviously took the time to listen to you… and if they were to criticize it as well, then that just means that your words inspired them to think in a new way and caused them to think of ideas that you may have overlooked or-"

"Are you done rambling yet?" he rudely interrupted.

"Oh…sorry." You said quietly, taken aback at his nasty words. "I was only trying to-"

"You don't think I know all of that already?" he rudely interrupted again. "I'm a grown man! I don't need advice from a girl nearly half my age…nor do I need to be treated like a sullen child!"

His words caused the inner beast within you to snap, demanding you to stand up for yourself. An image of your step-brother Ryan appeared in your mind.

"Well then you should stop acting like one!" you snapped, ramming your elbow into his side as you pushed past him.

You swiftly walked towards the head of the line, settling your pace beside Nikabrik and Trufflehunter, as well as their reunited friend Trumpkin. You decided against entering their conversation, seeing as how you were still seething from Peter's cruel attitude towards you and you would probably end up screaming foul words if you attempted to speak.

You decided that walking by yourself in silence would help you calm down.

However, even though you were still very enraged, as you turned back to see Peter still walking by his lonesome with a troubled look on his face…you couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

……………………………………………………………………

You all reach the Alsan's How by early evening. You were walking with Susan and

Lucy each at your sides, making sure to keep a strong distance from Peter. Susan had promised you that when you got to the How she would lend you some of her old clothes, and you were excited that you would be in women's warrior clothes. Even though at home you despised all sorts of violence, you were still athletic and couldn't help but picture yourself as a Trojan soldier fighting to the death like in the movies 300 or Troy.

Looking toward the large stone building, you saw that all the centaurs were lining the path that led the entrance of the How. Their swords were outstretched above the path, obviously the return of the Kings and Queens was a pretty big deal.

When you reached the beginning of the path you all stopped for a moment and admired the sight. Then the four Pevensies began to walk forward, and you and Caspian glanced at each other, silently agreeing to hold back for a few moments. When the Kings and Queens were about halfway through, Caspian took ahold of your hand and you both began to walk forward, smiling at the centaurs as you walked by.

Once inside the How, the smell of burning metal and sweat filled your nostrils, causing you and the other two girls to bring your hands over your mouths. The temperature was considerably hotter due to the Narnians who were hard at work melting and reconstructing the weaponry with fire. Caspian let go of your hand and walked up to Peter.

"I know it's not what you're used to…but it is defensible." Caspian said to Peter as he looked around at the Narnians working on weapons and armor. Peter looked around nodded approvingly while his siblings wandered around the inside of the How.

"Peter, you'd better come see this." You heard Susan yell from another room. Edmund and Lucy weren't anywhere to be found, probably with Susan, so you, Caspian and Peter followed the sound of her voice. Walking into the tunnel that led to other room, you saw that the three Pevensies were looking at old drawing of themselves.

Lucy suddenly bent down, her hand gliding over a drawing of herself alongside her brothers and sisters. In the drawing, they were all standing in a line and where adorned with their royal clothes and crowns.

"It's us." She said quietly. As she continued to admire the drawings, Susan, Peter, and Edmund made their way into the room.

Your eyes lingered on an unusual picture of a goat-man standing by a lamppost under an umbrella. You stared at it curiously before you were forced to tear your gaze from it.

Caspian grabbed ahold of your hand and you followed the Pevensies into the room, the darkness greeting you all.

"What is this place?" Susan asked, pacing around the entrance of the room, unable to see due to the darkness.

Caspian looked at the Pevensies with disbelief.

"You mean you don't know?" Caspian asked. They shook their heads at Caspian.

You looked over to him, confused as well.

"I did a bit of investigating while you were sleeping." He confessed with a sheepish smile.

Glancing over at a torch in the wall, Caspian walked over to it and pried it out of its hold. He then walked over to the start of the oil pool, carefully dabbing the tip of the fire to the surface of the oil.

The room seemed to suddenly spring to life as the fire did. A golden-red hue emerged in the form of fire, and began to travel throughout the whole room. The Pevensies stared in amazement as statues of Narnians and carvings in the walls began to appear all around the room. In the middle of the room lay a stone table that had been cracked in half, and directly behind the table was a stone tablet with a magnificent looking lion carved into it.

Lucy walked up to the table and looked at the Lion lovingly. She then turned back to her family who were also staring at the carving of the Lion.

"That's Aslan." Caspian whispered to you, and you nodded your head in understanding.

Peter shot his head back at you two, overhearing your discussion.

"You know him? You know where he is?" asked Peter hopefully, but Caspian shook his head.

"No…we thought you did." He replied.

Peter looked back down to the ground. "I guess Trumpkin was right…" he said unhappily, "he did abandon Narnia."

"Peter." Susan said disapprovingly.

"He must know what he's doing." Lucy said, defending Aslan along with her sister. Her stern words didn't seem to faze Peter at all as he continued to doubt the immortal ruler of Narnia. "He'll come around…you'll see."

"I think it's up to us now." He said stiffly. And with those final words, he left the room, leaving the rest of you to your thoughts.

……………………………………………………………………

"….and then you just it pull back as far as you can, and let go!" Susan instructed you as you carefully handled your bow an arrow.

You, Susan, and Edmund were in the fields outside the How, Susan trying to teach you how to handle a bow and arrow while Edmund lazily slept on the ground. You had all gotten a good night's sleep after you reached the How last night, and were now grazing in the fields during the warm and sunny afternoon. Susan had lent you one of her fighting dresses. It was a very pale yellow color, with a tight dark brown corset the wrapped around your chest. It reached to a bit below your knees, and the sleeves slopped before your elbows. You wore a pair of matching brown shoes, but were currently barefoot as you felt the grass between your toes. Even though you original despised wearing bright colors like yellow, pink, and orange, you couldn't deny the pale yellow of the dress went perfectly with your jet black hair.

Fumbling with the arrow, you carelessly lost your grip and it. You let out a shrill squeak as the arrow did a few flips in the air before landing on the ground a few feet in front of you. Edmund let out a snort of amusement, and you glared in his direction.

"Something funny?" you asked dangerously as you went over to pick your arrow back up. Edmund continued to laugh.

"Yeah…you're horrible hand-eye coordination." He said.

"Edmund!" Susan chided. "She's only just started. Don't be so harsh."

"Yean, and if I were you, I wouldn't be making fun of someone who's armed with weapons." You said in the same dangerous tone. This only caused Edmund to laugh harder.

"Yeah right! You can't even hit yourself with that thing…I doubt you'd be able to reach me." He said.

"Who said anything about needing to reach you." You said, dropping the bow and charging at him with the arrow.

Edmund, noticing your charging figure, instantly jumped up from his spot on the ground and began to run. You continued to chase him all around in circles, while Susan helplessly chased the both of you and tried to get you two to stop.

Edmund wasn't that much faster than you, and he was having a hard time keeping out of your reach since you were holding out the arrow like a sword, extending your range.

"Hey, Jade! Stop it!" he called, not wanting to get sliced. "Watch where you point that thing!" he squealed very girlishly.

"Oh, no." you said as you continued to brandish the arrow like a sword. "This bad boy's going right up your…"

You would have finished your sentence if you had not turned round so sharply and ran right into someone's hard chest. You let out a low grunt as you fell on your back.

"_Good thing the hard ground was here to break my fall."_ You thought sarcastically as you sat up and began to massage your back.

You were about to stand back up when a hand came into your view, offering you help to stand up. You looked up at the owner of the hand, expecting to see Caspian, but instead were greeted by the blue eyes of Peter. You stared at him, mouth agape, too shocked to take his hand.

"Are you going to sit around there all day or what?" he asked. His tone was still a bit rude, but you expected that much. Snapping out of your delusion, you gratefully took his hand and allowed him to pull you to your feet.

"Thanks for the help." You said, dusting off your dress.

He bent down and picked up your arrow, twirling it in your fingers.

"Well, by the looks of it you need all the help you can get." He said. You let a small, embarrassed smile come to your face.

"Damn straight she does!" you heard Edmund yell in the background. Your smile instantly faded, and you were about to chase him again when Peter held you in place by putting a strong arm on your shoulder. You watched Edmund disappear as he ran back inside the How.

"Just ignore him." Susan said as she walked up to the both of you and handed you back your bow. You reluctantly took it back, not quite keen to try again when you knew you'd probably fail. "Don't worry, Jade. I was horrid the first time I tried to use a bow in arrow too. It takes time." She comforted.

"I know…but I've been trying for hours. I doubt I'll ever get the hang of it." You said helplessly.

"Well…seeing as we don't really have time on our side, it looks like you'll be better off with a crossbow. They're not too hard to handle." Peter said.

"Wait…what do you mean?" Susan asked worriedly. Peter then proceeded to explain why he was here in the first place.

"The Telmarines will be here soon." He said anxiously. "We're having a meeting inside the How now. Come on." He said, turning on his heal and making his way to the How. You and Susan exchanged worried glances before running after him.

……………………………………………………………

You walked into the large room with the sculpture of Aslan and saw that practically the whole Narnian Army was gathered inside. Susan made her way over to Edmund while you took a seat next to Caspian. He gave you a small smile before wrapping his arm around your waist protectively. You leaned your body against his.

Peter strode to the center of the room where began to pace around the cracked stone table that Lucy was currently perched on. The room instantly became quiet as Peter lifted his head to speak.

"We need a plan." Peter began. "The Telmarines are building up their army quickly, so we need to act fast."

"What you suggest we do? Glenstorm asked the crowd.

"What we should do is-" Caspian and Peter said at the same, Caspian standing up from his seat. They stared at one another, sizing each other up. Peter gave Caspian a challenging look and Caspian backed off, sitting beside you once more. He rested his hands on his knees while he stared at his shoes. You placed your hand on your back to comfort him.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us." Peter said. Caspian instantly shot back up again from this comment.

"That's insane! No one has ever taken that castle." Caspian argued. Peter looked at him rather calmly, as if enjoying the argument.

"There's always a first time." He said.

"I for one feel safer underground." Trufflehunter said. You smiled. You knew he would take Caspian's side.

"If we dig further underground we could increase our defenses." Caspian tried to reason, and you couldn't agree with him more. You had been inside that castle for a few days, but nonetheless you had seen what the Telmarines were capable of. You believed that out of all the people here, no one knew what the enemy was more capable of than Caspian. However, you didn't dare voice your opinion. After all, you didn't have much experience with wars or fighting, and you would leave the decisions to the more experienced.

"If the Telmarines are smart they'll just wait and starve us out." Edmund said, voicing his opinion.

"We could store nuts." The jittery squirrel said, appearing out of nowhere. This time, you couldn't hold back your involuntary snort.

"Yes! And throw them at the Telmarines!" Reepicheep said sarcastically. "Shut up!" He said, bonking the squirrel on the head. He then looked towards Peter

"I think you know where I stand sire." Peter nodded towards Reepicheep, and then turned to Glenstorm.

"If I can get your troops in, can you handle the guards?" Peter asked

You watched as Glenstorm contemplated the order for a moment, giving Caspian an uneasy and forgiving stare.

"Or die trying." he said, turning back to Peter who looked pleased.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Lucy piped in. All eyes adverted to her.

"Excuse me?" Peter asked rudely. It reminded you of how he said the same words to you earlier when you were trying to make him feel better.

"Well you all talk like there are only two options. Dying here…or dying there." She said as she played with the cracks on the stone table

"I don't think you've really been listening Lu." Peter said, speaking to her as if she was still a little girl. This seemed to spark anger within her that you did not think such a kind girl possessed.

"No! You're the one that's not listening!" she said back a bit louder than she usually spoke. "Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter." Peter gave her an intense glare. You didn't understand the weight of her words, but you had a feeling they damaged his pride a bit.

"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough." Peter said turning back around to the group. Everyone was now in deep conversation with each other, discussing what plan Peter could possibly come up with. His eyes then landing on you and Caspian, and he walked over to the both of you.

"Well, Jade. It looks like you'll be needing that crossbow after all." Peter said to you. He was about to say something else, but then Caspian shot up from his seat for the third time. He stood up against Peter as close as he could, giving him a glare as the two boys sized up each other…both refusing to back down.

"She's not going anywhere." He seethed. You stood up beside him, trying to calm him down by putting hands on his arms.

"Caspian, I'll be fine." You said, but he shook you off.

"No! I will not allow you to put yourself in danger!" he said to you, even though he was still glaring at Peter.

"Like I said before, we're going to need every sword we can get. That includes people who can wield them." Peter demanded.

"She's not going anywhere…and that's final!" Caspian said in a low, dangerous voice before storming out of the room.

**Ohhhhh things are getting tense****….and exciting! I have to say…I'm so excited to write the next chapter because the raid on the castle is my absolute FAVORITE part of the movie.**

**As if you can't tell, Edmund is one of my favorite characters as well! He's just so funny and cute in the movie…with his little flashlight haha.**

**Alright well thanks again for reading and………..**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	14. Chapter 14: Broken Promises

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Hey everyone! Ok, just so you know, I wrote this chapter RIGHT AFTER the last one because I was so excited! It's the best chapter ever!**

**And as usual, thank you all for your lovely reviews. **

**And seeing how this is a very special chapter, I would like to dedicate it to my 50****th**** reviewer, as well as my biggest supporter, TwlightMoon416! Thank you so much! I always look forward your reviews and hopefully you get this before you go to Prom! Have a great night! **

**Ok that's all so, on with the story…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 14: Broken Promises**

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**Your POV **

You stood against the hard walls of Aslan's How, arms crossed as you glared at Caspian's form preparing for the night raid. That was their plan- a night raid.

"_Because you know…nothing could possibly go wrong at night. No, of course not…not when it's dark and spooky and totally creepy!"_

Their plan, however, wasn't half bad. They planned on infiltration and attacking the castle from the inside. Caspian, Susan, Trumpkin, and Peter were going to get into the castle with the help of the gryphons** (The huge birds)** while Edmund signaled everyone from one of the towers with his flashlight. Once inside the castle, they would open the gates the led into the huge courtyard that you had been in when you first came here. At the same time, Reepicheep and his little mouse friends would also sneak into the castle in order to let down the drawbridge. And then, when everything was opened and in place, Edmund would signal all the other Narnians to attack. It seemed like a very efficient plan…if done correctly. You had to admit it to Peter, it was much better than just randomly charging in on them. This way they wouldn't expect anything- they wouldn't know what hit them.

Nonetheless, you continued to glare at Caspian's back as he began to put the final touches of his armor on.

"Keep staring. I still won't change my mind." He said calmly, refusing to meet your gaze. You fumed even more.

"You're not the boss of me." You snapped back dramatically, looking away from him.

He signed, strapping on the remaining pieces of armor before turning around to you. He buckled his sword to his belt and walked towards you…but you would still not meet his gaze. He stopped when he was a few feet before you.

"Jade…please. Don't act like this." He said desperately. You, however, remained infuriated.

"Acting like what? I'm not _acting_." You said as you snapped your head to meet his gaze. He didn't look sorry in the least.

"You're _acting_ like a child." He said curtly. You felt the urge to slap him across the face. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway." He took a few brave steps forward.

"What's the big deal?! You're acting like my mother…that's the big deal! You think you can tell me what I can and can't do? Well you're wrong! I'm 18! I'm a legal adult! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" you yelled, your arm flailing as you pointed an accusing finger in his direction. He raised his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"Yes, I know! You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself! I understand that! But if I'm not mistaken…I'd say that this little fit your throwing is the closest thing to war you've ever experienced!" he yelled back. You bit back your tongue when you realized that he had a point.

"_But that doesn't matter!"_ your conscious yelled at you, forcing you to keep arguing.

"That's not the point!" you defended. "If I want to go and fight, then I should be able to go and fight! I want to help!"

You had made so many good friends in Narnia, all of whom you loved dearly. You could not bear to think of them all putting themselves on the line of duty while you sat safe and sound at home. Especially Caspian…

"But that's the problem…you can't fight! You can't handle a sword, and from watching you all day this morning, you definitely can't handle a bow and arrow! I understand that you want to help, and if there was any way you could I would let you. But right now, you just need to leave this job to the professionals. For someone who's never been at war before, this is just too dangerous." he finished, his voice becoming softer.

"_What a jerk! Did he already forget that I was the one who saved him from getting his pretty-boy face smashed open by Peter? Does he really think he can…hold on…did he say that he was watching me __**all day**__?"_

"I could use a crossbow…" you said quietly as you realized that you were losing the war.

Caspian shook his head. "Crossbows are only good for long range…what happens when a Telmarine comes up to you with a sword?" He asked as he stepped a bit closer, significantly narrowing the gap between the two of you. He placed a hand on his sword, mimicking the situation he was explaining.

You stared up at him deviously. "I'll kick them where it hurts."

Caspian immediately took a step backwards, looking at you in shock. You giggled, noticing that he was too scared to move back closer to you. However, a smile did make its way to his face and he listened to your tinkling laugh.

"So…does this mean you're not made at me anymore?" he asked hopefully.

You smiled back at him. "Of course not." You replied in a sickly sweet tone.

Caspian's smile faded. "Well, I don't care. You can stay mad at me for as long as you want, but you're still not going." He said as he gained his confidence back and closed the distance between you both. "It's for your own good. And mine too. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on our plan if I kept worrying about you."

He lifted his hand to your face and began to run his hands through your hair. You signed, giving in to his comfort.

"_Damn! Why does he always have to be so sweet!"_ you thought angrily.

"But, it's not fair…" you said as he continued to comb your hair. "It's not safe for you either…and…I don't want to lose you." You said looking up into his eyes. He gazed back before he gently grabbed the back of your neck and laid your head on his chest. He then wrapped his arms around you and cradled you lovingly.

"I don't want to lose you either." He whispered as he began to gently rock you back and forth in his arms.

Your touching moment was soon brought to an end as Peter barged into the room. You jumped at the sight of him, but Caspian refused to let you know. Peter stared at the both of you awkwardly, and you felt a blush coming on.

"Oh…um, sorry." He said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hate to break up your touching moment, but we're ready to leave." Caspian nodded at him.

"I will be there shortly." Caspian said, sending Peter a meaningful look. Peter seemed to catch the understanding, and he left the room to give you two a moment together.

Caspian pulled you away from him arms length, his hands resting on your shoulders. He bent his head down so that you two were eye level.

"I have to go now." He said, although he didn't seem too happy about it. "Promise me…promise me you won't set foot out of this room." He demanded.

You nodded. "I promise…" you whispered. "But…you have to promise me that you'll come back." You said. You knew that was probably too much to ask him, but his answer was the only thing that would comfort you.

"I promise." He said before bringing you into a tight embrace. You hugged him back just as tight, wishing he didn't have to go. You stayed like that until you heard Edmund and Peter calling for Caspian from the other room. He slowly and reluctantly pulled you away from him.

It was then that you realized you were crying.

Tears were streaming down your face as Caspian took your hands in his, bidding you farewell.

"Jade…please don't cry…I'll come back." He said, but you could not stop. "But…just incase something happens…" your head shot up. "Oh! Um…which it won't..." he said correcting himself, but you were still not convinced. "But anyways…if anything were to happen…I just want you to know that…I…I just want you to know…that I…that you're very important to me…" he said at last.

And before you could say anything back, he crushed his lips onto your. You leaned into him, wanted to taste more…but as fast as his lips came, they were gone. You looked up to him with tear stained eyes, begging him to continue.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered. "But…if I keep going …I doubt I will be able to stop…" he said sadly as he brought you into a tight embrace once more and rested his chin atop your head.

"Caspian…I-"

"CASPIAN! It's now or never!" you heard Peter boom from the other room. He instantly pulled himself off you once more, leaving both of your bodies cold and incomplete.

"I have to go." He said as he quickly pressing a kiss to your forehead. He was about to turn around when you grabbed him back.

"But wait! Caspian…I-" you were about to say something, but Caspian brought a finger to your lips, silencing you.

"Shh…" He cooed. "Tell me when I come back." And as usual, his words brought a smile to your face. Giving you a quick smile back, he then proceeded to walk away from you as fast as he could, in fear that if he looked at you one more time he would not be able to leave.

You did not budge from your spot as you listened to the flapping of wings disappear into the starry night sky.

……………………………………………………………………

It had only been 20 minutes since everybody left, but it felt as if it has been 20 years. With your nerves on high alert, you were finding it exceedingly difficult to keep yourself busy as you anxiously waiting for everyone to come back safely. You had tried to fall asleep…but that attempt was useless.

That's how you found yourself in the small tunnel that led to the Stone Table room, sitting Indian style on the ground as you stared at the drawing of the goat-man under the lamppost with the umbrella. You didn't know why…but you were drawn to the image.

"I knew him." A voice said in the silence, causing you to jump. Turning around with your hand on your heart, you saw Lucy standing innocently under the threshold. "Oh…sorry." She said.

"No, it's alright." You said.

When you regained your normal heart rate, you motioned with your hand for Lucy to sit next to you.

"You say you knew him?" you asked and she nodded. "Tell me about him then." You said as you turned back to the drawing. Lucy smiled, anxious to tell her story.

"Well…for starters, his name was Mr. Tumnus, and he was the first person I met when I came here. That's where we met." She said, pointing to the lamppost. "It was a snowy day, you see, and he brought me inside his hut for some tea." She said with a bright smile as she relished in her memories. "No one believed my story when I came back…but then one day when we were trying to avoid one of our Professor's tour groups, we all hid in the wardrobe…and that's how we found this place."

"It snows here in the winter?!" you asked excitedly, winter being your favorite holiday.

"No…not exactly. You see…when we all came here for the first time, Narnia was under a spell. It was very long ago, back when Narnia was under the corrupt rule of the White Witch. She had made it so that Narnia was stuck in wintertime, and had been so for years."

"Wow…creepy." You said, listening intently to her explain everything.

"Very…" she said. "But no worries! Aslan came back and defeated her in the end…everything worked out fine. He brought the springtime back too! I just…wish I knew where he was now." She finished a bit sadly.

"You say he came back? Where did he go?" you asked.

"It's a bit complicated…but I'm sure you're used to complicated stories by now." She said and you laugh, urging her to continue. "Well, like I said before, when we came to Narnia it was under the rule of the White Witch…who considered herself the Queen of Narnia. However, as you know of course, Aslan was the rightful ruler of Narnia… and when he came back from wherever he had been; he brought the springtime back with his roar, significantly decreasing the Witch's power. And now that he was back, the creatures of Narnia would either take The Witch's side or Aslan's side…thus splitting Narnia in half. War was inevitable, and we all took Aslan's side…except for Edmund."

"What?!" you blurted out, shocked. "Edmund sided with The White Witch! Why?"

"It wasn't his fault!" Lucy said quickly, defending her brother. "He was tricked and brainwashed…it wasn't her fault…she's very tempting. Don't be too harsh on him…he regrets it even to this day. But anyways, he came to his senses eventually…that is after she tried to kill him. We were able to rescue him, but the White Witch demanded we give him back to her on the accounts of an ancient law gave her possession of all traitors of Narnia. However, Aslan offered to go in her place, and was sacrificed on that very stone table over there." She said, pointing into the room. "However, the Witch failed to understand the deeper magic of Narnia that old Aslan knew. Apparently, when someone who has committed no treachery willingly sacrifices himself for a traitor, death is reversed, and the martyr returns to life. He came back for us then…" she stared at the stone table with a distant look in her eyes.

You stared at her knowingly. "He must have meant a lot to all of you…you especially. I always see you sitting on that table." You said following her gaze. "I hope he comes back…at least for your sake."

She turned back around to you, tears threatening to fall. "He will come back! You'll see! I swear I saw him the other day…the day before we ran into you and Caspian. I saw him! I know I did! But no one will believe me!"

You instantly stood up and wrapped your arms around her, letting her sob into your shoulder.

"Shh…it's ok, Lu. I believe you." You whispered as you rocked her back and forth in your arms, just like Caspian had done to you before he left.

"He's coming back! I know he is! He has too…" she said, her voice trailing off as she started to feel sleep overwhelming her. "He has to come back…and soon…something bad is going to happen tonight." She whispered. This instantly caught your attention and you shook her a bit, not wanted to fall asleep just yet.

"Something bad is going to happen? Tonight?" you asked worriedly. "What's going to happen? How do you know? Lucy?"

"I…don't know what really…" she said with a yawn, "but what I do know is, that all my life that I've lived in Narnia…I always knew when something bad was going to happen…it was almost as if…he was warning me…" she said, her last words rolling off her tongue and she drifted off to sleep.

You picked her up and placed her gently on the stone table. You then gazed back up at the sculpture of Aslan in the wall, and you couldn't help but feel as if he was staring at you back. Whether it was a secret message that he had sent through your head, or your rash instincts kicking in, a plan came to your mind.

You bent down to Lucy's sleeping form and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'm sorry to leave you here, Lucy." You said, staring back at Aslan's eyes. "But I need to go." You said quickly before storming out of the room.

You stepped outside the safety of the How and into the fields before it, where the Narnian's who were left behind anxiously waiting for their brethren to return. Most of them were asleep, making it so that you were about to tip-toe the other way, unnoticed…over to the foot of the woods.

You looked up at the trees and gave a low whistle. Six large gryphons instantly swooped down to your form, and you waved over to the only who you were most familiar with.

He perked himself before you, and bent his head in pleasure when you wrapped him in a hug and began to pet his wings.

"Hello there, Gust. Haven't seen you all day." You said, and he let out a squawk of agreement.

"Listen…" you said, becoming more serious. "The others are in danger, and I need your help." You said expectantly, and the look he gave you seemed to be of disproval.

"Oh, come on!" you pleaded. "They're in trouble! We need to help them. I'll worry about Caspian later."

Gust eventually gave into your pleas and you hugged him happily.

You then crept over to a sleeping fawn and stole his crossbow while no one was looking, making your way back to Gust when you were all ready. With a nod of your head, he circled your form with his giant claws, lifting the both of you into the air with a flap of his wings.

The two of you soared over the countryside, and you signed in contentment as the cold air rush through your face.

You were actually flying…

You then heard a resentful squawk from Gust as you saw the lights of the castle in the near distance. he obviously still didn't not approve of your rash and dangerous decision.

"Don't worry, Gust. Caspian will understand…eventually. It's for his own good! Besides…" you said with a devilish grin, "he said I couldn't lay a foot outside these parts…he never said anything against flying outside them."

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**Caspian's POV**

Caspian rushed through the hallways, a murderous intent written in his eyes. His destination…Lord Miraz's bedroom.

As he rushed through the hallways, the only thing he could comprehend at the moment was the words of his Professor that were currently still burning into his skull.

"_Do not underestimate your Uncle…or you will meet the same fate as your father…"_

That was the final straw. The truth was finally out…and Caspian would stop at nothing to get his revenge…

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**Uh oh…double cliffhanger! Oh well…at least Caspian and Jade finally kissed! (Even though it wasn't much) **

**But anyways, I hope you get this in time TwilightMood416 and have a great time at your Prom!**

**And stay tuned for the next chapter where the plot takes an interesting turn….**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Last Fallen Warrior

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Alright…here's the best chapter yet! I assure you…it is very exciting.**

**I bet you all can't wait to see what happens when Jade arrives at the castle!**

**And after this chapter, I might take a break for a few days to get all my thoughts together and everything. So don't worry…I just need some time to think. But you can enjoy this extra long chapter while you wait!**

**I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, I sure am!**

**Oh, and just a word of advice, I wrote this chapter while listening to the song "Castle in the sky" by Dj Satomi. It's a really awesome techno song that really got me pumped to write this long and action-packed. I highly recommend listening to the song as you read! Of course you don't have to…but it will make the scenes more exciting!**

**So with all that said…on with the story!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

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**Chapter 15: The Last Fallen Warrior**

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian stood before the door that led to his Uncle's room, his breathing heavy and heart racing. He was nervous and furious at the same time. A trickle of sweat slipped down the side of his face as he contemplated his next move.

He was supposed to be opening the gates for the troops. Peter had granted him time to find his Professor…and he shouldn't be wasting there precious time for his own selfish desires…but now…now that he knew…he had to do this. Attacking the castle didn't matter anymore…what mattered now was this…getting his revenge…bathing his sword in his Uncle's blood. His Uncle…his father's murderer. It was the only thing that would satisfy him.

"_Do not underestimate your Uncle…or you will meet the same fate as your father…"_

Caspian let out a low growl into the empty hallway before opening the double doors with one strong push.

And there he was…sleeping soundlessly on his magnificent bed.

His dreams were peaceful. He did not have constant nightmares of his father being viciously murdered …only to wake up in a cold sweat. He did not have merry dreams of his father during the old days when he was still well and alive…only to wake up and realize that they weren't real.

No…his dreams were perfect. He probably dreamed of the future…the future where he would soon be King, only for his son to take his place after him. He probably dreamed of the present…where the whole Kingdom was now under his wing due to the absence of Caspian and his father. He probably dreamed of the past…the day when the Kingdom had taking a totally new different turn in his direction with the death of his brother…

"_The death of my father…"_Caspian murderously thought as he quietly walked over to his Uncle's sleeping form.

He drew his sword and pressed it to Miraz's neck. Miraz woke up almost instantly, eyes widening for second until he realized who it was. His face relaxed into a cruel smile, and he snickered at Caspian.

"Thank heavens…you're safe." He said sarcastically. Caspian glared at him as if he was the devil and he pressed his sword into his neck a bit deeper.

"Get up." Caspian spat. Miraz chuckled, shaking his wife Prunaprismia up from her slumber as he rose from his bed and stood before Caspian. Surprisingly, he did not seem scared in the least. He actually looked…amused. It was almost as if he had expected something like this would happen.

"What? What is it?" she said sleepily as she reluctantly woke up. Opening her drowsy eyes, they instantly became the size of saucers as she saw Caspian with his sword against her husband's neck. She panicked. "Oh, Caspian!? What are you doing?" she asked worriedly.

"I think it's obvious, dear. You know…some families would consider this inappropriate behavior." Miraz said snickering once more.

"That doesn't seem to have stopped _you_." Caspian seethed as he dug the sword into his Uncle's neck so deep that Miraz started to bleed. Trickles of red liquid slowly spilled out of the shallow cut, staining the collar of his night shirt.

Caspian was about to speak again, but as if on cue, Prunaprismia reached up to the emergency weapon shelf and grabbed a crossbow. She aimed it at Caspian, who refused to remove the sword from his Uncle's neck.

"Put the sword down, Caspian." She said a bit nervously. Apparently, she never expected to be in a situation where she would have to fight. "I don't want to do this."

"We don't want you to either." Came Susan's voice as she and Peter barged into the room. Susan had her bow and arrow aimed at Miraz's wife. Prunaprismia in turn aimed her crossbow at Susan, but then remembered Caspian, and quickly turned her aim back to her nephew. Caspian looked at Susan and Peter expectantly and gratefully, but Peter did not look so happy. Susan looked a bit displeased as well. Miraz looked at the group and let out a frustrated sigh.

"This used to be a private room, you know." He growled.

"What are you doing!? You're supposed to be at the gate house!" Peter yelled at Caspian furiously.

"NO!" Caspian cried, his eyebrows knitted together in anger, sorrow, and pain. "For once I want the truth! Did you kill my father?" Caspian said to Miraz through clenched teeth. Miraz chuckled.

"So…this is how you find out…"he said with a smile. The whole room turned to him in shock, even his wife. However, he didn't seem to regret his words or deed in the least.

"What? You told me your brother died in his sleep." Prunaprismia said, glaring at her husband.

"That was more or less true…" Miraz said with a shrug of his shoulders. Caspian continued to press the sword in deeper as he glared at his Uncle and his confession.

"How could you?" Prunaprismia said ashamed, lowering her crossbow.

"For the same reason that you will pull that trigger! For our son! Think about it dear…" he said looking at Caspian right in the eye. "Do you want our son to be King? Or do what him to end up like Caspian here…_fatherless_." He said through his teeth.

Caspian let out a cry of anger and pain, scaring his Aunt.

"NO!" Prunaprismia screamed and shot the arrow at Caspian, fearing the death of her beloved husband.

Caspian knelt over in pain as the arrow lodged itself into his upper arm, causing blood to spill over his whit undershirt. At the sight of her deed, Prunaprismia fainted on the bed with a scream of her own.

Lord Miraz, giving a final selfish look towards his fallen wife, took this time to escape through the door in the corner of the room. Susan aimed her arrow at Miraz's and shot it in the direction of his retreating form. Unfortunately, Miraz closed the door just in time, the arrow digging into the wooden door right where Miraz's head had been only a second ago.

A moment later, the loud ringing of a bell carried throughout the castle, waking up all the sleeping guards. With the alarm sounding throughout the whole kingdom, Susan, Peter, and Caspian began to panic.

"Come on! To the gates!" Peter yelled as he ran out of the room the way he came. Caspian and Susan looked at each other nervously, but eventually followed Peter down the hallway as he made his way to the gates.

"Peter!" Susan yelled disapprovingly as Caspian held his injured arm as he ran.

Peter turned around and stopped for a moment.

"Come on!" he repeated. "Our troops are right outside!" he said before taking off again.

"Peter! Call off the troops…there's still time!" she pleaded.

Peter, however, did not agree with her one bit and continued to charge toward the gatehouse.

"No! I can still do this!" he yelled back.

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

You knew you were close when you spotted the troops at the foot of the woods. They were all waiting patiently, weapons still sheathed.

"Higher, Gust." You whispered to your gryphon, in hopes that the clouds would keep you out of view. You didn't want any of the Narnians to know you were here. They would most certainly not approve. No…all you were going to do was find Peter and Caspian and tell them to call the whole thing off…nothing more. You would get in, and then get right out…nothing more. Your crossbow was only for protection, and you did not intend to use it.

Water splashed across your face as you traveled through the clouds, and once you were through your vision was restored. You looked down to see that you were right above the castle.

Just then, you heard the crashing rings of bells in the distance, causing you to nearly drop your crossbow. You looked down expectantly, trying to find the source of the sound. Scanning the area, your eyes adverted to a most unusual sight.

Blinking a few times at the flashing light, you then realized that it must be Edmund with his torch. However…the light was jerking back and forth and kept switching on and off.

"_That couldn't possibly by the signal…"_ you said to yourself.

"Down there!" you ordered to Gust, while pointing at the flashing lights with your index finger. The gryphon took a deep swoop down, letting your eyes get a better view of the scene.

It was Edmund all right, but he was fighting with a guard who was fighting him for his flashlight. Edmund, who was nearly half the guard's size, didn't seem to be winning, and you feared for his life as you watched the two wrestle on top of one of the highest towers. It was a long way down…you needed to help Edmund!

"Let's go, Gust! There's Edmund!" you yelled. Gust obliged to your orders, and swooped down so that you two were now level with Edmund and the guard.

Putting your crossbow aside, you allowed Gust to fly you into the two men fighting. Just as you approached, the guard had thrown Edmund to the floor, flashing in hand. Standing straight up, triumphantly, the guard looked up just in time to catch the soles of your shoes as you kicked him off the tower…sending him to the murky depths below.

You watched the helpless man fall to his death, an unpleasant feeling residing in your gut.

That was the first man you ever killed…

Gust circled the tower a few times before coming to a stop, hovering a few feet above the cement floor with you still in his grasp.

Edmund dusted himself off, mouth agape as you glided before him. You smiled.

"Hey, Ed. Miss me?" you said playfully.

"Jade?!" he screeched, pulling at his hair. "What the hell are you doing here?! You were supposed to stay back at the How!"

"Shh!" you said as his screech rang throughout the castle. "What are you trying to do? Get us killed?! Let's keep it down to a dull roar." You chided in a quiet voice.

"Fine!" he said now whispering. "Now what the hell are you doing here?" he asked in a harsh voice.

"I'm here to help." You said, flaunting your crossbow.

"Well we don't need your help! So go back!" He said. He glanced down at the courtyard. "And hurry! Before Caspian sees you!"

He then looked of into the distance and pointed his flashlight to the woods, clicking it on and off to signal the troops. You watched as the giant mass of Narnians began to charge at the castle, the grass slowly becoming invisible as the creatures began to cover the land. They looked like a massive flood…pouring into the open fields.

"Caspian? Where is he? I need to find him." You said.

"No, Jade! Go now!" Edmund demanded as he continued his task. "This is dangerous! We are at war! You don't understand-"

"No, you don't understand!" you argued. "You all need to call off the plan, now! Something bad is going to happen!"

"Oh, really? How do you know?" he asked, challenging you.

"I don't know really…but Lucy said so!" you said as a last resort.

His eyes locked with yours. "Lucy said so?" he asked and you nodded. He stared off into space.

"You have to trust her, Ed. Something's gone wrong and you need to call off this whole thing NOW! Please…trust her!" you pleaded.

"Oh…I trust her alright." Edmund said. "The last time I didn't listen to what Lucy said…I ended up acting really stupid…" he trailed off, basking in memories.

You recalled the story Lucy had told you earlier, and you realized that he must be thinking about the White Witch.

"Good." You said, glad that he believed you. "Then let me help. I'll go down and find Caspian and-"

"No!" he shouted. You looked at him in shock. "You go back to the How, and _I'll_ find Caspian. Just get out of here!"

"No way!" you bit back. "You need to stay here and keep a look out! I can find him! I want to help!" You said crossing your arms.

You both then heard footsteps making their way up the stairs to the tower. Edmund looked behind himself towards the door that was about fifteen feet from where he stood. He turned back to you, a rushed expression written on his features.

"Jade, come on! Just go back now! We can handle ourselves!" He quickly said.

"I'm already here! Just let me help!" you continued to argue.

"No! We don't need your help! You need to-" just then, the door to the tower swung open, revealing a Telmarine soldier standing under the threshold with a crossbow aimed right at Edmund's head.

"Duck!" you yelled at him as he was about to reach for his sword. That wouldn't do him any good due to the long ranged distance.

Edmund obeyed your command, ducking right before you shot your own arrow at the guard, hitting him straight in the heart. He dropped his weapon, clutching his wounds in pain.

Gust then freed you from his grasp, and you landed gracefully on your feet as the gryphon swerved over to the wounded solider. He flapped his wings dangerously, causing the guard to lose his balance and fall off the tower…meeting the same cruel fate at his friend.

When his job was done, Gust soared back over to you and landed by your side.

Edmund rose back up, staring at you with complete shot written on his face. You smirked.

"What was that about not needing my help?" you asked playfully with a twinkle in your eyes. Edmund was speechless.

"Erm…thanks." He said a bit embaressed that he had been saved by a girl. He then shook his head, regaining his thoughts. "Listen…" he began, "I don't know why I'm saying this…but fine…go find Caspian or Peter, but do it as quickly as possible! Tell them to call it off!"

You nodded your head at Edmund, before giving Gust the signal to lift you once more.

"Thanks, Ed. You're the best!" you said, glad that someone was finally taking you seriously.

"Yeah…whatever. Just don't tell Caspian I let you go…he'd rip me apart." He said, causing you both to laugh. The sound of the drawbridge coming down brought you both back to reality. Edmund gave you a serious look. "Ok…Peter, Caspian, and Susan must be at the gates by now. It's right down there in the courtyard. Now hurry before they open it!" He ordered, and you were about to fly off when the sounds of more men running up the stairs to the tower reached your ears. You looked at Edmund worriedly, glancing at the door to the tower, and then back to him.

"But what about you?" you asked.

He drew his sword. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go! And be careful!"

"You too." And with your final words, you let Gust carry through the sky once more. As you soared over the courtyard, you spotted three figures running towards the gate.

"Down there, Gust! Now!" you yelled. Your faithful gryphon followed your demand, taking a dangerously steep towards the dark outlines of your friends.

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**Caspian's POV**

Caspian and Susan were having a hard time keeping up with Peter as he relentlessly sprinted towards the gates, a determined gleam in his eyes. Since they were a bit behind, they were forced to fight off some of the guards who were already ready for battle. The plan was a failure…their cover had been blown and they no longer had the element of surprise.

The bells continued to ring throughout the castle.

By the time Caspian and Susan reached the archway leading to the courtyard, Peter was already at the gate, turning the wheel to open in. He was trying his hardest to open the gate as fast as he could, but it was not a one man job.

Susan looked over to the many towers of the castle, an uneasy feeling in her gut.

"Peter! You have to call this off while you still can!" she yelled breathlessly as she and Caspian reached his side.

"Our troops are on their way!" he said, ignoring the pleas of his sister who glared at him in return. "Help me!" he ordered.

Susan and Caspian looked at each other unwillingly, Caspian sheathing his sword as they both decided to help Peter. Working together, they would have the gates open in no time.

Susan continued to glare at her brother, his decision not sitting too well with her. "Who are you really doing this for, Peter?" she asked viciously. Peter once again ignored her comment as they all continued to work at the task at hand.

A gust of wind caused all eyes to look upward, distracting the three Narnian soldiers from their job.

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**Your POV**

Staring into Caspian's disappointed and furious brown eyes, you wanted nothing more than to disappear at that very moment.

"Jade…" he said in a low and dangerous voice, unable to finish his sentence. His hands left the wheel that Susan and Peter were now manning, unable to help them any longer as he continued to glare at you with fury, disbelief, and fear.

You stared back him, your determined façade breaking down as your exterior began to crumble at the betrayed look he was giving you.

"_You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?!" his voice boomed, making you lean back into the tree trunks. "You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! You lied to me! Now get out of my sight! Leave!"_

You gasped, shaking your head as you tried to get rid of the memory of your past dream…nightmare. However, Caspian's haunting words still lingered in your subconscious as he remained stoic and speechless.

"Jade! What are you doing here!?" Susan yelled, still helping her brother.

"Jade…" Caspian growled once more.

"No! It's not what you think!" you said helplessly. "I'm here to help! Lucy gave me a warning back at the How. Something's going to go wrong, and you _have_ to call the troops off! Now!" you then turned back to Caspian. "I'm not here to fight! I swear! Me and Gust will leave right now just as long as you call off the troops!"

Susan looked at her brother triumphantly, and much to your pleasure, Caspian's facial features softened a bit. They were now replaced with an I'm-still-angry-at-you-but-we'll-deal-with-it-when-we-get-back look. By all means, he still looked infuriated, but he brought his angry down a tiny notch.

"What now, Peter?" Susan asked, but just as she did, all the Narnia troops spilled through the gate even though it was half open. Glenstorm was at the front, leading all of his fellow brethren into the courtyard where they were instantly met with the guards. They were all so determined…this must have been the moment they were always waiting for…

"It's too late now, we have to fight!" Peter said, causing you to panic.

"But you have to-"

"Jade." Caspian's merciless tone caused you to stop in your tracks. You looked over at him uneasily. "I need you to leave. Now. And don't come back." That was all you needed to hear, as you nodded to Caspian and motioned for Gust to leave.

You watched them all unsheathe their swords, determined looks on their faces.

Caspian looked back to you once more, and you could have sworn he gave you the look that your real dad had always given your mother…

"Be careful…" you said before Gust flew you away.

You looked over your shoulder and watched the three soldiers enter the battle.

"For Narnia!" Peter cried as he, Susan, and Caspian charged at the enemy. You stared and watched them fight a bit longer. It was amazing! Caspian and Peter were really talented fighters, and Susan was truly a master of her bow and arrow.

Gust gave an impatient squawk, and you allowed him to carry you into the night sky.

……………………………………………………………………

You were about to leave…you really were…

You were soaring overhead, making your way out of the castle unnoticed, that was until you saw archers lining the towers of the castle, aiming their crossbows towards the fighting below.

"_Not good!" _you thought.

"Come on, Gust. Let's go fight!" you yelled, but your gryphon would not budge. You continued to stare ahead at the archers, prepared to kill anything in your path. "Gust!" you pleaded, but the creature gave off a disapproving squawk.

Just the, you saw Edmund's head pop over the top of the roof, staring as the guards as them took their aim. Much to your horror, you watching him jump over to the other side of the roof and slide down towards one of the guards. He aimed a kick to the guards back as he ran into him, causing the guard to fall over the edge.

"_Not good at all!"_

"Gust! Now! Edmund needs our help!" you yelled dangerously, and the gryphon had no other choice then to follow your orders, swerving to the rescue of his beloved King.

You watched Edmund stand up, pleased at his work…that is until he realized that he had now caught the attention of all the guards.

"_Way to think that one through, idiot."_ You thought bitterly as you watch Edmund turn around in fear, throwing himself inside the door behind him. He narrowly missed all the arrows which lodged into the back of the door instead of the back of his head.

Now in reaching distance, you watched as the guards began to follow Edmund. The guard in the front was about to reach his hand out to the doorknob when-

BAM

You launched an arrow directly at side, causing him to stumble away from the door.

"_Bulls eye!" _you inwardly cheered. You watched as all the guards looked around helplessly for the sniper who took out their friend, their eyes eventually landing on your form. They aimed their weapons at you, and you aimed back. _"Alright…let's do this…"_

They all shot at you, one arrow after another, but you had the advantage as Gust expertly dodged all the arrows. You were able to take out every single one of them…ten in all. You smiled…you couldn't help but feel proud of yourself.

"_Heh…wait till I tell Caspian about this."_ You thought triumphantly.

However, an arrow suddenly zoomed right by your face, causing you to let out a gasp and Gust to flap his wings in displeasure. He immediately flew you both upward as your gaze followed the arrow.

Watching it lodge itself in the leg of a Minotaur, you realized that the arrow was not meant for you. What's more…is that the Minotaur was holding up the gate!

"_What the…"_you thought. _"Umm…did I mention that this is NOT GOOD!"_ you panicked as the Minotaur stumbled a bit after the blow, but proceeded to stand back up straight and keep the gate from collapsing.

You then turned the other way, looking for the source of the arrow. And in that moment, you locked eyes with the General who had found you the day you came to Narnia. He glared at your form gliding above…but there was nothing much he could do seeing as how he was weaponless. You eyes then landed on Lord Miraz as he continued to point his crossbow at the helpless Minotaur. You glared at him as well, hate swelling up in your heart as you watched as he was about to land another hit on the Minotaur.

Thinking fast, you raised your own crossbow and aimed an arrow at his direction. He dropped his crossbow and cradled his injury…you had hit his hand. He looked over to his General in anger, and the General pointed a finger in your direction. Miraz's eyes blazed as you gave him a triumphant smile. However, your smile was short-lived as you heard a call from below.

"RETREAT! Everyone retreat!" you heard Peter cry, a frenzy erupting down below. That Narnian's were losing the battle pretty badly, and only a third of the troops still remained while the Telmarines were still getting new and fresh reinforcements. Most of the Narnians began to run out through the gate, but the others who were still at battle with soldiers didn't really have a chance to escape seeing as they could not just leave their opponents.

You panicked as you searched the courtyard up and down and caught no sight of Caspian.

"_Where is he?!"_ you inwardly screamed, fearing that your gaze would eventually fall upon him as he lay motionless among the dead.

As if answering your prayers, Caspian suddenly emerged from the stall. He was sitting atop a horse, with two horses beside him. One of the horses seated his Professor, while the other one was empty. You watched as he handed the horse to Peter and they began to make their way out the gate.

"Caspian!" you called to him right before he was about to escape, and he looked up at you. Worry was written over ever inch of his face.

"Jade!" he yelled to you. "Get out of here now!"

This was no time to fool around anymore.

"Ok, Gust. Time to go." And for the first time, Gust gave you an approving chirp. Seeing that you were escaping, Caspian turned back around and ran under the gate…the Minotaur collapsing in exhaustion after Caspian and the Kings and Queens…and in death.

You looked overhead to see Caspian waiting at the other end of the drawbridge for you. You then looked down, watching in horror as the remaining Narnians had no way of escape. You really wanted to help them…but Caspian was watching you expectantly.

You were almost in the clear when a painfully screech came from above. You felt Gust's hold on you falter, and you looked up in horror to see his heart pierced with an arrow.

"No! Gust!" you screamed as you felt yourself begin to drop to the ground, your crossbow slipping out of your hands as you plummeted to the earth. "Caspian! No!" you screamed.

And with a final cry of help, your body crashed to the hard earth…your younger sister's smiling face being that last thing you saw before you lost consciousness…

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

"JADE!" Caspian cried in horror as he watched you fall to the ground, a wounded Gust following right behind you. "No!" he screamed as he jumped off his horse and ran towards the castle.

But by the time he got there, the drawbridge was already fully up…Peter looking at him sympathetically for the first time.

"Jade!" he screamed once more. His vision became clouded as tears welled up in his eyes but refused to fall.

"Let's go, Caspian…there's nothing more we can do…" Peter said as he ordered the survivors to make their way back to the How.

Caspian turned around and glared daggers at him. "Maybe you can't, but I can…" he seethed. "I'm going after her." He said as he proceeded to whistle over a gryphon. Peter jumped off his horse and drew his sword.

"You're not going back! It's too dangerous!" Peter yelled.

Caspian drew his own sword, glaring at Peter murderously. "Try and stop me." He whispered.

"You're not going back! I won't allow it!" He said in a demanding tone. "She probably didn't survive that fall anyway." Peter finished bluntly.

This unleashed the wild demon inside of Caspian as he let out a shrill battle cry and swung his sword at Peter. They began to battle dangerously.

"Stop it, you two!" Susan cried from behind Glenstorm, whose back she was situated on. "We need to leave now! They'll be coming after us!" she said.

Caspian turned around and glared at her. She looked at him apologetically…but Caspian continued to glare.

"Listen…" he said dangerously. "You can all leave! GO! I don't care! But I'm not going anywhere without-"

The rest of his sentence was abruptly cut off as the hilt of Peter's swords collided with the back of Caspian's skull…catching him off guard and rendering him unconscious.

The Narnians look to Peter in shock, but understood that it had to be done.

Peter lifted Caspian's form and slung him over on his horse, straddling it himself once Caspian was safe as secure behind him. He looked back to his fellow Narnians.

"Alright…let's go."

……………………………………………………………………

**Uh oh….double cliffhanger again!! I know…I'm evil. Not to mention the fact that I won't be updating all this weekend like I said before.**

**Sorry! I'm spending the weekend with my cousins and will be taking that time to get all my thoughts together so that I can write like the wind some more when I come back on Tuesday.**

**Again…Sorry!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW….even though you probably hate me hehe :)**


	16. Chapter 16: Sweet Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE PLEASE READ!!**

**Ok, so this weekend I had a great time at my cousins! And I also found some time to reread my story so far to get ideas of things I need to address further in future chapter and all that stuff, and I found a HUGE mistake I made. SORRY. Anyways, in chapter 6 when Caspian and Jade are telling each other how there parents died, Jade/you says how her father died when she was six. THAT IS A MISTAKE. What I meant to say was that he died six years ago…making Jade 12 when he died. I'M SORRY for the mistake. It would have been impossible for him to have died when Jade was six because then how could Alex ever have been born? The idea was to have him die six years ago…just around the time that Jade's mother was pregnant with Alex. OOOPS! Haha I've said too much! Find out the rest in this chapter!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

**And after the long wait…on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 16: Sweet Dreams**

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**Your POV (Dream)**

_Your twelve year old form was sitting at the dinner table, hands in your lap under the table as they nervously played with the hem of your skirt. You were gazing at the tablecloth intently, trying your best to not meet your father's gaze. _

_He was sitting across the table from you, an angered expression lingering on his facial features. His hair was a bit disheveled as he continued to run his fingers through it, and his tie was loosened messily from his shirt…making him look very tense and unkempt. He had just gotten home from a long day of work…and with the way things were going these days, you found it safer to not spur a conversation with him after he came home from work._

_You continued to stare at the white tablecloth until finally the footsteps of your mother rang throughout the hallway, signaling her entrance from the kitchen to the dining room. She carried two bowls in her hands; the one containing pasta, and the other a salad._

"Oh no…pasta again." _You thought._

_Whenever your mom only made a bowl of pasta and salad for dinner, it meant that she didn't have the time or sanity to cook a decent meal. That seemed to be happening a lot these days…_

_Your mom took a seat at the dinner table, and you could have sworn the air became five times tenser. You didn't like how even though there was dinner on the table, neither your mom nor your dad was making a move to fill their plates. Something had to be wrong…_

"_Well…?" your dad suddenly asked out of the blue. He stared at your mom intently, who wasn't making eye contact with anything save for her empty plate. She refused to speak._

"_Well, Joyce?" he asked again, more sternly this time. Your mom seemed a bit irritated by his voice._

"_Relax, Dan." She said calmly, yet with a hint of rudeness. She then looked towards you, and then back to her husband. "Not in front of Jade."_

"_This concerns her too." He said as if you weren't even there.. "Now did you go or not?"_

_Your mom remained silent once more._

"_Did you go…or not?!" your dad asked, now raising him voice._

"_Of course I went!" your mom said back in an equally as loud voice as she stood from her seat_

"_And what did they say?" asked your dad._

_Your mom seemed to regain her sense of composure, and noticing that you were still in the room, sat back down. The silence seemed to make something click within your father, and he went straight for the fridge, pulling out a half drunken bottle of bear._

"_Jade…" your mom began, "it looks like you're going to be having a younger brother or sister." She finished. _

_The next thing you heard was the smashing of glass and the pounding of your father's angry footsteps as he retreated to his room._

………………………………………………_._

"_Get rid of it!" you heard from downstairs as you tried to concentrate on your math homework._

_You were still reveling in the shock of a new siblings, your moms words from a week ago still ringing through your mind as you attempted to occupy yourself with something else. No such luck._

_In addition to this new distraction, your mom and dad were having another fight downstairs._

"_Leave me alone!" your mother's voice rang throughout the house._

"_Leave you alone? Oh don't worry, I'll leave you alone." Your dad's voice said bitterly. "Just let me know when you ever want to have Tyler and his three little angels over for dinner or something, I'll be sure to give you both your well needed privacy." He said sarcastically._

"_I said leave me alone!"_

"_Not until you agree to get rid of it!" he yelled. "I will not let this baby be an excuse for you to empty my wallet! I want no responsibility for it! You are not having that baby!"_

"_That's not your decision to make!" she cried._

_Your dad paused for awhile, as if in thought._

"_Hmm…you're right…" he said in mock contemplation, "…it's probably not mine anyways…"_

"_Dan!" you're mom shrieked. "It is yours! How can you even say that?!"_

"_How can I even say what? The truth?" he yelled dangerously. "What's wrong, Joyce? Can't handle the mess you left yourself with?! Can't handle the consequences of your actions?! Can't handle the fact that you're a lying, cheating whore?!" _

_There was another pause._

"_How could you…" your mom said in a low, dangerous voice._

"_No…how could __**you**__." Your dad replied._

_There was the sound of the front door slamming, and then the ignition of a car._

_You never heard your dad's voice again. _

………………………………………………_._

"_Aww…it's a girl!" the thirteen year old version of the devil said from beside you in a disappointed voice as you stared through the window. Right after his comment, you heard the complementary signs of his two brothers, equally as disappointed. _

_It had only been six months since your father's tragic death that your mom had started dating this guy named Tyler. Apparently, she knew him from before…_

_Life had been hell ever since. Tyler and his three sons would always come over for dinner on Fridays. You couldn't stand them. But it didn't seem like they were getting too serious yet, so at least there was still hope… _

_You didn't give a damn what Ryan thought, you stared at your new baby sister with wonder and happiness. You placed your palms on the glass, wanting to reach out and hold your newly born sister as you watched the nurses place her in a crib among all the other babies. _

"_Sister…" you whispered to yourself, "my baby sister…"_

_Your baby sister…_

_Your first baby sister…_

_Your only baby sister…_

_Your only hope…_

_Your only escape…_

_Your only happiness…_

_Your only reminder…._

_of dad…_

"Dad…"_ you thought to yourself, _"do you see her?"

"_Ugh, this is so lame! Let's go switch up the patients' charts on the doors again." Said Ryan, already bored of the new addition to your family. He and his two devils brothers ran away to cause more mischief and ruin someone else's life._

_You, however, would not budge from your spot. Palms still pressed again the glass window, you watched your new sister cry, kick, cry, scream, cry, kick, cry, and then finally fall asleep. A moment later, a nurse came out with a clipboard and connected it to your baby sister's crib. You squinted your eyes to read the small print of the writing on the chart._

"_Alexander Ebony" was written on the top line._

"_Alex…" you repeated out loud to yourself as you watched your sister sleep until the early hours of the night._

………………………………………………_._

"_Jade…" your younger sister asked you as you continued to pack your moving bags with ever ounce of property you owned. You did not let your gaze fall upon her as you continued to violently stuff your clothes into your bags._

"_Jade…" she continued uneasily. You sighed._

"_What is it, Alex." You asked in a frustrated voice, but not directed at her._

"_Why are we leaving our house?" she asked innocently._

_You stopped in your tracks to look up at her six year old form playing with the hem of her dress._

_After six long, awaited years, your mom and Tyler finally decided to get married. Just awesome…_

"_Because we're moving." You said bitterly as you went back to your packing._

"_Why are we moving?"_

"_Because mom and Tyler are getting married, and now we have to live in the same house as them." you replied._

"_But…" she began confused, "I thought mommy and daddy were already married."_

_Your head shot up from this comment and you immediately rushed over to your sister. You stopped in from of her, kneeling down so that you were eye level with her._

"_Listen, Alex…" you began. "What I am about to tell you, you cannot…I repeat CANNOT tell anyone. It's a secret just between the two of us. You CANNOT let mommy or Tyler know I told you, alright?" you asked her_

"_Jade, why don't you call him daddy? Why do you call him Tyler?" she asked._

"_Because he's not our dad." You said bluntly. You wanted to drop the bomb more gently, but you were in a very bitter mood at the moment. She was six…she would understand that much._

_Alex's eyes widening, kind of like the time that you accidentally mentioned the fact that Santa Clause didn't exist._

"_Daddy's…not daddy?" she asked sadly._

"_No…" you said equally as sadly back. _

"_But, if daddy's not daddy then who-"_

"_Shh!" you hushed her as you heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Listen, Al…I'll explain it all to you some other day, I promise! But you have to promise me that you wont tell anyone what I said ok!?"_

_She nodded her head. _

"_Anything for you, big sister." She said, and you instantly felt guilty for burdening her with such an overwhelming fact all of a sudden_

_She looked like she was about to cry, so you wrapped her up in a tight hug, running your fingers through her hair lovingly. _

"_Oh, Al…" you said, trying your best to keep her from crying, "I love you so much…"_

………………………………………………_._

"_Jade…are you really leaving?" she asked. You hated when college was brought up. You didn't know how you could even bear to leave her alone in this madhouse. You sat on your bed and scooped her in your lap._

"_Don't worry, Al" you cooed, "I'll get a few jobs and save up money to bring you over to England with me. It may take a couple years, but I promise you, I'll find a new home for the both of us. I'll take you away from here." You both hugged each other in fear of ever having to let go. When you parted, you noticed she was smiling._

"_Am I going to go to school in England too!?" she asked excitedly._

"_Of course!" you said, "It'll just be the two of us." She smiled in satisfaction._

"_I can't wait!" she jumped off of you and began to clap her hands in excitement._

"_Me either! Now hurry up and get ready for school. You know how mom gets when you keep her waiting."_

_She happily skipped out of the room and you returned to your dresser, picking out a flowy, long white skirt and a matching tight, white spaghetti strap shirt that showed a bit of your flat stomach._

"_Don't worry, Alex. I'll find a new home for the both of us."__ You thought as you prepared for the long day ahead of you._

………………………………………………_._

"…_maybe today you can accompany me down to the village, and we can try to find you something more suitable for your taste?"_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_I never knew anyone could wear my mother's old clothes so well…you look beautiful, Jade."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_I don't consider you a burden at all. I'm actually…glad you came."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_Don't worry, Jade, I'll take care of you…I promise. And I want to help you, I really do. I'll find you a way back home…don't worry, just…don't cry."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_My Uncle will not lay a hand on you, not unless I have anything to do with it. Like I told you before, I'm going to protect you and keep you safe. You just have to trust me and do what I say."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_It could be anything. One decision could possible change the fate of Narnia forever."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_Things never happen the same way twice."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_I don't think I could have done that if you weren't there with me."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_That is, unless you're going to try to kill my friends again."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_She's not going anywhere…and that's final!"_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"_I don't want to lose you either."_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"…_you're very important to me…"_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving?"**_

"…_if I keep going …I doubt I will be able to stop…"_

"_**Jade…are you really leaving**__?"_

"_Jade! Get out of here now!"_

"_**Don't worry, Alex. I'll find a new home for the both of us."**_

_Dream Over_

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV**

You twitched in your sleep, the painful, forgotten memories from years ago shaking you back to reality. Your eyes fluttered open, the first sight they saw being the smooth metal surface of the wall above you.

You were lying on your back, your form resting upon an equally as smooth metal surface. It was hard, cold, and dirty. The stench of rotting food fill your nostrils, making you grimace at the sanitary conditions of your surroundings.

You sat up from your spot on the floor, regretting your quick motion as your head began to burn. Your hand flew up to comfort your headache, only to lay upon a bump the size of an apple. Feeling around your head, you pulled out clumps of dry blood from your hair. Turning around to look at the spot where your head previous lay, you saw a pool of dried up blood. Your dried up blood.

You wanted to throw up.

Your eyes then adverted to the thick iron bars that were to your right. They seemed to be rusting before your very eyes, but that did not mean that they were not strong. You dare not touch them, though. They looked like they were hundreds of years old. A hundred years old worth of germs…disease…death…

To think about it, everything in your cell looked hundreds of years old…including the stray bones that were shuffled into the far left corner. Again…you wanted to throw up. But save for the pile of bones and the shallow pool of water to your left (which you made a mental note to not touch at all costs) your cell was empty. No one else was in it…just you. There weren't even any other prisoners in the adjacent cells to yours.

Nope…you were all alone…you hated being alone…

Your hands immediately went back to your hair, playing with the stray strands in boredom. You kept looking around the room…looking for any sign of life or movement…or possibly a sign of hope.

But you looked to no avail. There was nothing. You were alone, scared, and…

"_For someone who's never been at war before, this is just too dangerous_."

"…………Fuck." You said to yourself.

Caspian was right. After all your fighting, complaining, and whining…he had been right.

When he told you not to leave your room the first day at the castle, you had not listened to him.

When he told you not to set foot outside the How, you had not listened to him.

And when he told you to leave the battle, you had not listened to him.

And that was your third and final strike.

Caspian was right, and it was only a matter of time that your constant betrayal of his warnings would lead you into a situation like this. Your heart sunk. He, Peter, Susan,  
Edmund, and Lucy would probably be so worried about you…and they would all probably blame themselves…especially Caspian and Ed. Well…probably not Peter, but he still might feel a bit sorry.

You smacked yourself in the head with your palm.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" you said to yourself, punishing your idiotic self for getting you into a situation like this. This was totally, completely, 100 your fault. It was all your fault. No one else's but yours. No one else deserved to be in this situation quite like you did. You were stupid, headstrong, and ignorant…and this is where it got you.

"Caspian…" you whispered to yourself.

This whole thing was your entire fault…and yet…

He probably thought it was _his_ fault…

……………………………………………………………………

**Ok! Sorry again for the long wait.**

**And I apologize again for the chapter…it may not be as exciting, romantic, or as interesting as the other chapters but it needed to happen. At least now you know bits and pieces of your past.**

**But don't worry, next chapter will be the huge fight between Peter and Caspian! It wasn't such a big deal in the movie…but it will be in my story! Haha!**

**Ok, well until next time enjoy this chapter and the past chapters!**

**And I can't help but find it funny how so many people read this story but only like 5 of those people review…**

**SO PLEASE REVIEW!!**

**And to those who already do, you're awesome!**


	17. Chapter 17: The Enemy of My Enemy is?

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Alright! Well I must say that I'm really happy that I'm getting more reviews than usual…and that makes me want to write more haha. Sorry if I seemed a bit rude but I really do need feedback for my stories. Besides…I don't see a reason why you shouldn't review…I mean…it really does motivate me to write faster. :)**

**I know most authors only post like once every two weeks or once a month, but I'd rather post every day or so lol. I just love to write and I'm so glad that all you like my story!!**

**Anyways, for all you Jade fans, sorry to say that this chapter is all Caspian…but yay for Caspian fans!**

**Sorry, but the last chapter was all Jade, and this is catching up to where our hottie hero is hehe.**

**But yeah…on with the story…**

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**Chapter 17: The Enemy of My Enemy is My...?**

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**Caspian's POV (Dream)**

"_Quit it, Jade." Caspian said with a chuckle as the raven hair beauty continued to poke his side. She giggled. _

"_I can't help it." She said with a smile. "I'm so happy!" _

_She poked Caspian again, who in turn pushed her away playfully._

"_Well then find someone else to poke with joy." He said in mock anger. Her giggles died down, but the smile did not leave her face._

"_I'm sorry. I'm just…so happy!" she said again as she jumped up and down. _

"_Yes…I know." Caspian said. "I can tell." He said as he watched her jump up and down with joy, the happiness spurring a similar feeling within him._

_Could this moment get any more perfect?_

"_I'm just glad that everything's finally over." She said, a smile grazing her lips. She turned to Caspian. "Aren't you?"_

_Caspian smiled, reaching out to her tiny form. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. "Of course I am, Jade."_

_She became warm at his touch, and rested her head gently on his chest. She sighed in content as he played with her hair, running his fingers through the messy black locks._

_Caspian had never felt so happy before in his entire life._

"_Jade…" he whispered into her hair. She was so silent in his arms, almost as if the beating of his heart was putting her to sleep._

"_Jade…you're my-"_

_Dream Over_

The neighing of horses brought Caspian instantly back to reality and out of his dream world. His eyes fluttered as they cause sight of the early morning sky, the contents of his dreams immediately erasing them from his memory. The feeling of this immediate loss made him feel…empty.

On the contrary…everything seemed empty…

The blank, grey, starless sky reflected his memory as he continued to stare at its barren appearance.

"Time to wake up, lover boy." A bitter voice said from below.

"_Below?"_

Caspian then realized that he was atop his horse, which was currently stationary. With one final glance at the sky, Caspian turned his gaze to the source of the voice. It was a tall boy with blonde hair, and even though he did not remember completely who the person was, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of animosity towards him. The boy seemed to return his hate-filled glare...the glare he saw that day…

"_Prince Caspian?" _

"_Yes. And who are you?" _

"_Peter!" _

"_High King Peter?" _

"_I believe you called."_

"Peter…" Caspian said, his memory slowly coming back to him.

Peter…the one who tried to kill him the first time they met.

Peter…the one who refused to listen to his pleas to not invade Cair Paravel.

Peter…the one who wouldn't let him…

"_You're not going back! I won't allow it!"_

…the one who wouldn't let him go back to save Jade…

"You…" Caspian seethed as he jumped off of his horse. Peter looked up at him in half-hearted surprise, most likely expecting an outburst like this. In addition, there was a huge hint of anger in his stare as well.

"Oh, so sorry. Was I interrupting a pleasant dream?" he said with mock regret. "Because it's time to wake up to the nightmare, dear Prince." Caspian had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't remember any dream…

He shook his head in confusion.

"Peter!" said a stern voice from behind him. Most likely Susan. "Now's not the time for that!"

Caspian zoned out from their argument, taking into account where he was. He turned around, getting a view of what was behind his horse. He saw…Aslan's How…and a bunch of Narnian's eagerly waiting outside of it. Where they waiting for him…? If so, how were they supposed to explain their failure, and…

"Jade…" he whispered to himself, unaware that his footsteps were leading him back to the How.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Peter's wrathful voice came from behind.

Caspian glared at his form as it began to march towards his. He was ready for anything…

He was about to bite back a response, when a little girl came running out of the How, a worried expression planted on her features. Her cheeks were stained with dried up tears and her eyebrows were knitted together in pain.

"What happened?" Lucy squeaked, her worry getting the better of her. "Where's Jade?" Caspian's head shot up, the name not sitting too well in his stomach.

"She's-"

"Ask him." Peter said bitterly, cutting off Caspian. He glared at Caspian as he proceeded to walk in front of him.

"Peter!" Susan repeated.

Something barbaric snapped within Caspian, and he channeled all the regret, loss, and pain his heart bore into anger…anger pinpointed at Peter.

"Me?" he said back. "You could have called it off…there was still time." He said, momentarily forgetting about Jade and the aftermath of the battle.

"No there wasn't…thanks to you. If you had just stuck to the plan instead of making a personal detour those soldiers might still be alive right now!" Peter growled, turning around at Caspian.

"And if we had stayed here like I had suggested they defiantly would be!" Caspian bit back.

"You called us, remember?!" Peter said, raising his voice

Caspian's mood calmed down again, and instead of raising his voice to compete with Peter, he brought it down to a low and dangerous notch. "My first mistake."

"No…your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people." Peter said walking away.

"Hey!" Caspian yelled to him, stopping Peter in his track. When Peter turned around Caspian raised him voice dangerously. "I am not the one that abandoned Narnia!" he yelled as he walked up to Peter and pushed past him, desperately needed to take refuge in the How in case Peter were to say something that would drive him off the deep end

"You invaded Narnia!" Peter continued to argue as Caspian pushed past him. According to Peter, this wasn't over yet. "You…your Uncle…your father…we're better off without the lot of you!"

Trying to stay calm proved to be impossible for Caspian. Peter's comment spurred the wild demon inside him once more, and he let out a shrill cry as he drew his sword. Peter read his mind, and drew his sword swiftly after him. They each pointed their swords threateningly at each other, daring one another to make the first move.

"Stop it, you two!" Susan yelled from somewhere in the crowd.

"Stay out of this, Susan! It doesn't concern you!" Peter yelled at his sister. This made her even more angry and headstrong.

"Doesn't concern me?" she said, raiding her voice. "Doesn't concern me?! I was there, Peter! I saw everything!" she said in reference to the helpless Narnians would ended up getting trapped inside the castle courtyard and meeting a cruel fate. "It's everyone's business! No one's happy about what happened! Everyone feels miserable. Do you think either of you feels differently than us?!" she said, referencing him and Caspian.

Both boys looked at each other, before quickly looking the other way. Caspian sheathed his sword, remembering a certain someone who had been lost in the chaos of the battle.

"I didn't mean to cause any of this…" he said, trying to bring the fighting to a half…for her sake. "I didn't want any of this to happen…I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" he said, a feeling of guilt wavering through him.

"Yeah right!" Peter sarcastically yelled back at him, causing Caspian's calm mood to disappear once more. "You don't care about any of those Narnian's that died! Not a single one! You're just bitter because your beloved Jade got captured…or killed…and now you may never get to tell her how you feel! And guess whose fault it is?!" Peter mocked, trying to hurt Caspian as much as possible.

And then Caspian charged at Peter, sword still sheathed. His bare hands would be a deadlier weapon.

Peter, who was anticipating this, aimed his sword at Caspian as he approached. When Caspian was in range, Peter took a swing at him. But Caspian ducked just in time, expertly catching the hand that held Peter's sword. He pulled Peter's hand down and kicked the sword out of his hand, and sending a punch right to his gut with his free hand.

Peter gasped in pain, clutching his stomach. At the sight of his evident pain, Caspian let go.

"Take it back." He said menacingly.

Bad mistake.

Peter instinctively took advantage of Caspian's mercy. With all his might, he rammed into Caspian shoulders first, sending the both flying onto the ground together. Peter landed on top, pinning Caspian below him and looked ready to strike.

"Take what back? The truth?!" Peter spat.

"No! Stop!" yelled Lucy, but her calls were useless. She was about to go into the fight and break it up herself, but Edmund held her back.

"Don't, Lu. You'll get hurt." He said protectively. "Besides…they've both been dying to have a go at one another…it's about time it happened. You won't be able to stop them. Nothing will. It's best to just…let them get it out."

"That's totally barbaric!" Lucy shrieked in disapproval. "I want them to stop before one of them gets hurt!"

"They'll be fine…" Edmund said unsurely.

Ironically, just as Edmund said his closing statement, Peter sent his fist into Caspian's left check…most likely a blow that would leave a nasty bruise.

"You can believe what you want…" Peter said panting, "…but this is all…your…fault!"

And after the first, he did not stop. He hit Caspian again, again, and again. But just as he was about to hit Caspian for a fifth time, the young prince seemed to return out of the shock from the fall and kicked Peter off of him violently.

"I said take it back!" Caspian repeated.

Peter landed a few feet away, falling hard on his back. Caspian was about to jump on top of him and give him a round of punches like Peter had to him.

"Take back what you said about Jade!" he yelled.

But Peter so happened to land right beside his sword, picking it up instantly and brandishing Caspian away with it. He sat up, using his free elbow for support.

"Take what back?" he asked as he put his finger to his chin mockingly. "Oh…you mean the part about how Jade is either in the hands of the enemy or a rotting corpse and it's all your fault? Is that the part you wanted me to take back?" he said sarcastically.

"What?!" came Lucy's shocked reply in the background, only just realizing what the two boys were talking about.

Caspian let out another battle cry.

This was silly. Peter was on the ground. Even though he had a sword, Caspian still had the higher ground and the advantage.

He marched over to Peter and easily kicked the sword out of his grasp for a second time. He then bent down to his level and picked Peter up by his collar with one hand, and sent a bone shattering punch to his jaw with his other hand.

The instant he let go of Peter, the blonde was collapsing onto the ground once more. But Caspian was not done with him.

He grabbed Peter's crouching form by the shoulders, and rammed his knee into Peter's gut about half a dozen times before throwing him away again.

But once again, he grabbed onto Peter before he collapsed. Caspian was intent on beating Peter to a bloody pulp and bathing his hands in his blood. He would pay for what he said about Jade and the fact that she might be…

"_No! She's alive!"_ he said to himself.

Instead of holding Peter by the shoulders this time, Caspian kept the blonde balance by digging his fingers into his scalp…holding him up by the roots of his hair.

Caspian looked into Peter's eyes murderously.

"Take it back…now!" He growled.

Peter stared back at him with many things: with pain, suffering, a sense of defeat…with anger, embarrassment, and a need for revenge…

And then he looked at him with sorrow, regret …and maybe a twinge of guilt?

However, whatever Caspian had seen was forgotten. Peter's stubborn refusal to speak made Caspian even angrier, and before Peter knew it, Caspian was ramming his forehead into Peter's. Caspian head butted his befriended enemy, crushing his delicate skull with his brute force.

And with that, Caspian finally allowed Peter to fall to the ground.

He turned around and walked away limping, leaving his badly injured friend/enemy writhing on the ground in pain

Turning his head around, he watched as everyone crowded around their fallen King. Peter's brother and sister's had come straight to his aid despite the things he said, and Caspian took note that no one proceeded to follow him as he trudged into the How.

"_How typical."_ He thought bitterly, denying the fact that he cared that no one was following him.

Or…at least he didn't notice anyone following him…

……………………………………………………………………

Caspian walked stiffly into the How, blocking out all the gasps of horror and sorrow he heard from all round him. He made his way into the How as quickly as possible, not wishing to have to confront Peter's siblings or his fellow Narnians so soon. Peter was their real leader…he would tell them what happened.

After all, Caspian held no power above the Narnians like Peter did. No…he was just one of them…a useless tool that had to obey every word Peter said…

He stopped when he had reached the tunnel room, the room where all the drawings and paintings resided. He put him hand on the wall, using the dirt surface for support as his gaze lingered on a curious creature with an umbrella over his head. The creature was standing beside a lamppost, books in hand. Caspian had always seen Jade staring at the picture, and he tried to see what was so curious about it…

"Well, well, well…" a slimy voice said from behind him. Caspian turned his head around in shock, not aware that he had been followed, "look what we have here…" the voice said again.

It was Nikabrik, his tiny little legs waddling into the room. He had a devilish smirk on his face, and Caspian looked at him with fear and confusion.

"Look what we have here…your plan failed, nearly a third of our troops have been taken out, and your little girlfriend is in the hands of the enemy…" he sneered, enjoying the pain-filled that swept onto Caspian's features.

Caspian looked away from him.

"What do you want? Congratulations?" Caspian said sarcastically, walking away from Nikabrik before he was tempted to punt his tiny figure out of the How.

"No…" Nikabrik said, his voice becoming more serious, "…what I want is what you want." He said, gaining Caspian's attention.

"Excuse me?" Caspian said, mildly confused yet curious all the same.

Nikabrik smiled. "You want this land back? So do we. You want your Uncle's blood? So do we…" he said mischieviously, "…and we can get it for you."

Caspian was now right in front of Nikabrik, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Wasn't it only a few days ago that you were accusing me of being a threat and thief to Narnia?" Caspian asked bitterly. Nikabrik's words seemed to be too good to be true. "Why help me now?"

Nikabrik shrugged his shoulders. "Things change." He said as he walked past Caspian and into the Stone Table room. "Besides…we're on the same side now, and we both want the same things. But…I understand if you don't want my help…I wouldn't blame you. I was just under the impression that…" he said, turning to Caspian with an evil gleam in his eyes, "…you would want to get Jade back…"

Caspian's head shot up and he ran into the Stone Table room after the dwarf, his words causing something to click within Caspian's head.

"Yes! I do!" he said quickly, hoping that Nikabrik was still offering his services. "I want her back…and I want my Uncle dead…I…I want your help." He said desperately, giving in to Nikabrik's scheme.

Nikabrik smiled evilly once more. "Very well then…" he said, looking off into the distance. Caspian followed his gaze, unaware of whom he was speaking to or what he was looking at.

A few moments later, two cloaked figures appeared out of nowhere. Caspian watched in fear as they circled the room, slowly making their way towards him and Nikabrik.

"I am thirsty…" the taller one growled. He bore his teeth so that his sharp fangs were the only thing Caspian could see under his hood. Caspian immediately drew his sword in fear that the mysterious beast would attack him. "I can go a thousand years without water…and not die. I can drink a sea of blood…and not burst. I am…DEATH!" he growled as he removed his hood.

Caspian jumped in horror. It was…a werewolf. He had red eyes that gleamed with bloodlust and he continued to bear his teeth. Caspian pointed his sword at the beast, his heart racing.

The werewolf backed away a bit, showing that he meant no harm…but was still dangerous. He growled in pleasure as his friend took off their hood as well…revealing what looked like to be a cross between an old, wrinkly woman and a bird.

Caspian looked at them both, disgusted.

"Who are you?" he said, trying to console his fear.

"We are…at your service." The wrinkly and batty creature said, bowing her head. "Whatever you wish…it shall be granted." He said.

Caspian looked at them a bit more curiously.

"And…you can guarantee…Miraz's death?" he asked, a bit excitedly.

The bird lady bowed down to him. "And more…" she cooed.

"What about Jade?!" Caspian shot back. "What about her?!"

"My boy…" sung the bird, "the girl has not yet passed over to eternal life…she has been spared…"

Caspian looked overjoyed, yet still pained that she was still in his Uncle's grasp. He needed her back…

"And you can get her back!?" he asked expectantly, eyes wide with excitement.

"Whatever you wish…it shall be granted…" the bird repeated, head still bowed.

Caspian thought to himself for a moment, taking into consideration all the possibilities. Could he trust these people? He didn't even know who they were.

"_But they can help!"_ his heart roared, even though his mind and common sense was screaming at him to not trust them. _"They can get Jade back! She's not dead! Your Uncle will be soon…but Jade won't! You'll get her back!"_

Caspian's head shot up, a determined look in his eyes that did not say 'no'. He sheathed his sword, and turned to Nikabrik, sending him his answer with his eyes.

Nikabrik smiled and turned to the two cloaked figures.

"Very well…" he said to them again.

The bird lady immediately rose from her bow and turned to her werewolf friend.

"Let the circle be drawn!"

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**Yikes! I really hated this part in the movie…it was so creepy! In fact, it was even creepier in the books!**

**Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed your daily dose of Caspian! I wonder what will happen when he's confronted by the White Witch…**

…**oh wait…I do know! Haha. But you don't get to find out until tomorrow…or maybe tonight if I get enough reviews by the end of the day!**

**Thank you for reading, and I would like to apologize again for sounding a bit rude about people not reviewing. You don't have to if you don't want to…but they seriously help me out and give me the confidence to keep writing!**

**So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

**And hopefully I'll be posting again later tonight!**


	18. Chapter 18: Susan and the Snake

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok…sorry I didn't update last night but I totally forgot that I had plans. But not I shall write this chapter as I watch the first Narnia movie :) **

**And reviews have been going up! Which makes me very happy! Thank you everyone. Keep up the feedback!**

**And sorry again for Jade fans, but this is an all Caspian chapter as well…I know, you're SO upset (note the sarcasm).**

**But yeah…on with the story…**

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**Chapter 18: Susan and the Snake **

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**Caspian's POV **

"Let the circle be drawn!"

Caspian regretted sheathing back his sword.

The bird woman began reciting this peculiar chant in a different language, her eyes never leaving Caspian's. Her voice was very scratchy and eerie, giving Caspian goosebumps.

But what was even more frightening was the werewolf circling Caspian's shivering form, using his extra long and sharp claws to carve a circle around the young Prince. Caspian did not want to find out what else those sharp claws could do, so he decided against any form of movement or protest.

Once the beast had completed the circle, he stood off to the side while his partner in crime pulled out a long staff. It was old and a dark wood color, with a few knotholes and bumps in it. On the very top was a circular orb, imbedded into the wood. At first sight, the orb was a clear and cloudy color…but then, a swirling green mass took its place, brimming the edges of the globe with its bleeding color. Caspian thought that the shade of green resembled Jade's eyes remarkably. It made him sick to his stomach, so he did all he could to not think those horrid thoughts, but rather console himself with the fact that she was at least alive and not dead…yet.

But no worries, Nikabrik's "friends" would help him. They said they could…

The bird woman held the staff over her head like it was something of extremely high and important caliber. She held it as if it was the key…the key to unlocking something great. Terrible maybe…but great nonetheless.

Caspian tuned out her odd language ramblings, his eyes fixated on the wooden staff. It was almost as if it was mesmerizing him with its significance, transfixing him with its power. He watched the way the staff flowed in the bird woman's grasp…still held high in the air as if it was of great value.

And then…she smashed it into the ground.

White ice seemed to pour out of the area where the staff made contact with the ground, oozing out of the staff's entrapment and forming a thick wall of ice; the stone mural of Aslan disappearing as the icy barrier blockaded it from view. Caspian stared at the wall of ice in wonder, its cool and majestic color transfixing him even more than the staff had.

"_Wait…the staff!"_

Caspian's eyes immediately shot back to the staff, and just in time. The wondrous scepter did not disappear by all means, but rather, seemed to come to life.

The hard, wooden material of the artifact became flexible and elastic, dropping to the floor gracefully. And that was when the orb of the staff turned into the head, and the other end turned into the tail.

And lo and behold, a dark green snake was spilled onto the floor, eyes yellow and fangs in view.

The snake looked up at Caspian and hissed before slithering up the ice wall and circling the spot where a lady's face was.

Soon enough, a whole figure of a lady had appeared.

She was beautiful, Caspian thought, but terribly frightening at the same time. Her eyes made him want to inch closer and be near her, but her blue orbs were also shining with fury and rage that kept Caspian's feet glued to his current spot in the center of the circle.

He continued to stare at the lady in terrified amazement, her long white hair spilling over her shoulders and her thin, pale face staring at Caspian eagerly. Looking more closely, Caspian had realized that her face was not pale…but white. Her figure had not color pigment…she was as white as the snow.

"Caspian…" the lady whispered.

And when their eyes locked, Caspian heard a loud and earth-trembling roar in the depths of his subconscious. It shook him hard, causing him to lose his balance a bit. It was then that a feeling of dread and fear rose up through him…and he realized that this was not want he wanted. No…this was not what Aslan wanted…this was not what Narnia wanted. And he was scared.

But the lady's eyes transfixed him, and he could not move. Her ice cold complexion froze him as well, and all he could do was stare at the snake which continued to circle the surface of the ice where the lady's face was.

"One drop of Adam's blood, and I shall be all yours…" she said.

She held out her hand to Caspian, and to his amazement, her hand broke through the ice wall and continued to reach towards him.

And once her hand was only a hand, and not shielded by the ice, Caspian was no longer transfixed and became determined.

He made a move to leave and step out of the circle, but the werewolf stopped him and held him in place by the shoulders.

"No…" said Caspian, trembling. "This is not what I wanted! Stop!" he pleaded, but the werewolf only tightened his grip.

The bird woman shuffled over to him and pulled out a dull knife from her robes. Caspian gasped in pain as the rough blade pierced his skin, causing blood to spill onto his hand. He continued to struggle and would not allow the werewolf to push him any closer to the wicked lady.

"No…" he repeated, eyes gazing at the floor in fear of meeting her stare.

The lady seemed disappointed.

"What is wrong, dear Caspian? Don't you want my help?" she asked innocently, her faithful snake hissing in agreement with her as it continued its pace around her.

"This is not what I wanted…" Caspian repeated. The lady sighed.

"What's wrong? You don't want me help?" she said in mock hurt. "I can give you anything you need…" she tempted.

"No." Caspian refused. "I…I don't need your help…if I get her back…_I_ want to be the one who does it…" he said as he finally looked into her eyes. "I want to be the one who brings her back. It was my duty to protect her…" he said as if he was speaking to himself.

But all the lady needed was for Caspian to look into her eyes, and now she had him trapped.

"Dear…" she cooed to him lovingly as she pulled back her outstretched hand, "show me what it is that you seek."

But to Caspian, her words sounded more like an order than a request. And when he did not speak, he felt him mind being penetrated and he grabbed his head in pain. He heard sounds…voices…and images flashed by but they were too fast for him to get a clear view of them.

And as fast as everything went, it was gone. Just like his kiss with Jade had been.

"_Jade…"_

And Caspian thought he was seeing things when Jade stood before him after he opened him eyes.

But…she was behind the wall of ice, trapped behind it like the lady had. But Caspian forgot all about the lady and stared at Jade's form lovingly.

There she was, her long black hair and her bright smile…and even her green eyes. But she was not in clothes of her own. She was in the long, light blue dress that the former occupant of the space had been in, and a crown was atop her head, looking quite out of place.

But Caspian paid no heed to this as he continued to stare into her jade eyes.

"So…this is what you desire…" said a voice in Caspian's head, and the young Prince was having trouble deciding which was more hypnotizing, the lady's voice inside his head or the girl who meant everything standing before him.

He stopped his struggling, and the werewolf let him go.

Jade continued to stand before him, smiling down radiantly at Caspian…the snake still circling.

Caspian eyes softened, and he stared at her in disbelief.

"Jade…" he whispered. He could almost feel his knees buckling. "Jade…it can't be…"

"It is her, my dear boy," cooed the voice in his head, "and she will be all yours…all you need to do his free her…"

Jade smiled wide, her pearly white teeth shining amidst her rosy lips. She outstretched her hand, the paleness of her skin penetrating through the ice wall. The palm of her hand facing upward, she motioned for Caspian to take her hand.

"Just one drop of Adam's blood, and she is all yours…"

And Caspian didn't think twice before he outstretched his own hand as well, ready to take Jade's hand in his. It had been so long since they last touched…

"STOP!" Came a voice from the threshold of the room, and Caspian tore his eyes from Jade momentarily.

Peter…Caspian was not very fond of Peter at the moment. He looked back to Jade, his hand still outstretched expectantly. But he hesitated for some reason. By all means, he wanted to grab onto Jade's hand like no other…but…he couldn't force himself to budge.

"Stay away from him!" Peter yelled as he drew his sword as charged at Caspian.

Edmund, Lucy, and Trumpkin appeared in the threshold as well, and bounded after Peter.

Lucy stayed put at the threshold, but that was until she saw Nikabrik winning in the duel against Trumpkin, her dear little friend. She charged over to Trumpkin's aid, pulled Nikabrik off him and giving Trumpkin the time to stab him in the back. He fell to the floor…dead.

Peter and Edmund made their way towards Caspian, hoping that they would get to him before it was too late.

The werewolf growled and bounded towards Peter, but Edmund cut him off so that he could clear the path for Peter.

Peter continued to run at Caspian, fuming as he stared at the back of the Prince stretching his hand out to…Jade? But no…that couldn't possibly be Jade. She was in the White Witch's clothing and crown, and if the White Witch was involved…it could only mean trouble…

The bird woman jumped in his path attempting to block him, but Peter merely knocked her to the side, sending her crashing into the Stone Table. Her skull hit the edge of the table with a loud crack, and there was no question that the impact had killed her.

A shriek of a whimpering dog in the background told Peter that Edmund had slain the werewolf, and now they could focus on the White Witch.

Peter ran up to Caspian as pushed him out of the circle. Caspian fell to the floor and did not get up when he looked back to the ice wall.

Jade was gone, and the lady reappeared. A nasty snarl took its place onto her face as she transformed back into the horrid witch she was before. She pulled her hand back immediately. She looked very displeased.

Peter looked back at her with a similar glare, that is, until her features soften and she spoke with her silky voice.

"Peter, my dear…I've missed you…" she said, causing Peter to lower his sword. Once she noted that he was falling into her mesmerizing gaze too, she outstretched her hand once more. The snake never once ceased its continuous path. "Come on…just one drop…you know you can't do this on your own…"

Peter's eyes softened and he gazed at the White Witch as if she was his only hope…

But then a sword pierced through the Witch's heart, and his one and only hope shattered before his very eyes, into tiny fragments. He crouched over, taking cover from the sharp shards of ice that were flying through the air.

When everything came to a stop, Peter and Caspian looked up to see Edmund holding his sword in an attack position. He had killed the White Witch.

He lowered his sword, looking at his brother and Caspian disappointedly.

"I know…you had it sorted…" he said sarcastically.

Caspian and Peter turned around to see Susan in the threshold, looked at them disappointedly as well. Her gaze was hard…there was no need for words.

Just then, Lucy's cry rang throughout the How. All eyes were on her.

"The snake!" she screeched, pointing frantically to a spot on the ground. "The snake! Kill it!"

And sure enough, she was pointing at the dark green snake that was trying to escape. It weaved in and out of everything and everyone as it made its way for the exit.

"Susan!" Peter yelled, but his sister was miles ahead of him…arrow already pointed straight as the snake's head. She stood her ground, waiting for the right moment to strike…

But when the snake came into her range, she could not shoot…she did not shoot…she did not _want _to shoot. The snake's yellow eyes bore into hers, forcing her to halt her fire.

"Susan! Shoot it now!" Peter continued to yell, but Susan could only watch in confusion and…relief…as she let the snake escape right before her eyes…

……………………………………………………………………

**Sorry…this chapter would have been longer but my dad just told me that he and my mom are getting a divorce…like…he just told me…right in the middle of writing this story.**

**I'm sorry it's not as long, but I cant finish it and I figured id at least give you some of the next chapter since I promised it today. **

**But yeah…I might not post for awhile. I really will try…because writing is what gets me through hard times. But right now I need some time to myself.**

**Sorry again…as I'll post as soon as I can…**


	19. Chapter 19: Tales as Old as Time

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**First of all, I'd like to say thank you to all my faithful readers who have given me their support and sympathy during this time. I know I don't even know any of you, but it's a huge consolation to read your heartfelt reviews…and I am deeply grateful to all of you.**

**I've never been the one to mope around and let life pass me by when I'm depressed, I always try to make the best of it. And that's when I realized that I am not going to let this time of my life stop me from doing what I love to do: writing. I just can't…it would be so unfair to not only you faithful readers and reviews, but to me as well. I'd be denying myself of a pastime that has kept me happy and consoled for years, and just because my parents forgot what love is doesn't mean I have to. I love to write and I'm not going to stop.**

**So with that all said, I happily give you the next chapter to your Prince Caspian love story… :)**

**And I swear…this will be that last chapter that Jade is not in!**

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**Chapter 19: Tales as Old as Time**

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian was sitting on the outside back edge of the How, about two stories from the ground. His view lingered on the deep forest instead of the open field. He hid himself in the back area of the How so that no one would bother him or find him…only to scold him for his previous actions.

The rushing wind from such a great height blew his hair from side to side, making it messier than it had already been from his excessive pulling at it. He was deep in thought and couldn't help but replay the scene of his encounter with the White Witch over and over…

"_What had I almost done…"_ he thought, thinking about how he had almost grabbed out and reached Jade's…no…the White Witch's hand. How close his fingers were to hers…how she had nearly seduced him into her trap that was obvious to everyone except him. Well…there was still Peter who almost grabbed her hand too…but finding a similarity between himself and the pompous High King was something he was not eager to appreciate or accept. How could he have been so foolish?

"_What could I have done…"_ he thought, imagining what could have possibly happened if he indeed did lock fingers with the evil Witch. Would she have really stay true to her word and help him defeat his Uncle if she had been freed…or would she betray them and bring them all to their doom. How could he have been so foolish?

Susan's and Peter's screaming had long since died out…their constant bickering being the only thing that was keeping him from being able to concentrate on his own thoughts. He had retreated to this hiding spot long before they began their yelling fest, and their screams had been booming throughout the entire How ever since. But now that they had settled down, he had some time to think to himself.

"_Susan?! Are you mad?! Why didn't you kill it?!" Peter yelled furiously._

_There was a paused._

"_Susan!" Peter yelled again._

"_I'm sorry!" she yelled. She seemed angry as well…at herself really. "I just couldn't…"_

"_What do you mean you couldn't?!" Peter continued to rage._

"_Oh, shut up Peter! At least I didn't almost free Jadis!" she screamed._

"_Don't you turn this on me! I did not almost free her! That was Caspian! I got there just in time to-"_

"_Just in time to continue was Caspian had started!" she rallied. "I'm not 'turning this' on anyone! Just admit it! You almost freed her! You let her get to you!"_

"_Hey!" came Edmund's voice, defending his brother. "It's not his fault! She's very…tempting…I would know…it's not his fault!" he said sadly. Susan huffed._

"_Well…that snake! It wasn't my fault either! I really wanted to kill it…I really did! I just couldn't…" Susan pleaded._

More thoughts plagued his mind…

"_What if Peter did not come in and stop me?"_

"_Why couldn't I stop?"_

"_How did she know about Jade…did she read my mind or something? _

"_And if so…how did she turn into Jade?"_

"_Why couldn't I stop?"_

"_Susan looked so angry…"_

"_So did Edmund…how did he know how to kill her?"_

"_It was like…she was hypnotizing me or something…"._

"_Why couldn't I stop?!"_

"What power did she have over me!?" he said out loud as he slammed his fist into the side of the How, unaware of the bespectacled pair of eyes that was watching him.

"My dear Prince," said a voice. Caspian snapped his neck around, watching as his Professor appeared out of the shadow. He let out a sign of relief. "What kind of a question is that?" he asked.

Caspian stared at him bemused as he took a seat beside him.

"What?" Caspian asked confused. "Didn't you hear what happened?"

The Professor nodded. "I did indeed…" he drifted off, refusing to say anything more to the young Prince.

"Well…" said Caspian, not really wanted to repeat his foolish acts. He looked up at his Professor expectantly, hoping he would pick up where he left off. However, he seemed to want to hear what Caspian had to say and would not give his say in on the matter unless Caspian started the discussion.

"Professor…" he started, "I'm…I'm sorry. I did not know what came over me. Please…do not judge me for what I have done…" Caspian said regretfully.

It felt good to spill out his regret to the person he could trust the most, seeing as Jade was no where around to console him and Peter would never accept his apology in a million years. That would most likely spur up another fight…

"_Not like he could beat me anyway…"_Caspian thought arrogantly, basking in the memories of beating the living hell out of Peter earlier.

"Oh, believe me, my Prince. I did not come here to scold you or berate you for acting out of character." He said. Caspian's ears perked up and he did not feel so self-conscious or upset with himself anymore.

"You're not?" He asked eagerly. Caspian was amazed. How could the Professor not be mad with him? The whole Narnian army would most likely want to leave him for dead if they found out…so how could his Professor act so calm and forgiving already? "You mean…your not mad at me?"

"Of course not…Jadis was an evil Witch. She was capable of anything…she possessed powers that may even have been considered above Aslan's. Although her knowledge of Narnia was not as great…she was powerful nonetheless." Caspian listened intently to his Professor's story. "If you want to hear more stories of her reign, I suggest you ask the Kings and Queens of Old. It was during their time that she was first defeated. I'm sure they have many more interesting stories to tell…"

"So they defeated her then?" Caspian asked.

"By all means no! It was Aslan who did…not to say that they did not aid in her downfall." He said.

"How do you know all this, Professor?" Caspian suddenly asked, curious as to how his Professor would always teach him about the stars over Narnia and tell him old stories that he was sure no one back at Cair Paravel had known.

"My dear boy…Narnian is in my blood…" he trailed off looking off to the setting sun. Caspian stared at his with wide eyes, begging him to continue. "My mother was an elf from the Northern Mountains…she taught me all I knew." He said with a smile.

"Where is she now?" Caspian asked, even though he knew what the answer would be. However…there was still hope that she was still hidden in Narnia somewhere.

"She has long since been deceased." He said sadly.

"But I thought you said that elves can live for thousands of years." said Caspian.

"By all means, they can." He said. "But my mother was killed in battle. She perished about 50 years ago…when small rebellions still raged between Narnians and…your grandfather." He finished quietly.

Caspian had the urge to throw up. He had always thought that his fathers had been good kings…good kings who were fair and just and civil and…most certainly not murders and thieves of the land that so rightfully belonged to the Narnians. He felt horrible…

"Professor…" he began. "I'm so sorry…I had no idea that my grand-"

"Hush, my dear Prince. No need for apologies." The Professor said as he brought up his hand, halting Caspian from speaking anymore. "That was long before your time…and a bit of mine as well. I will not hold you accountable for the actions of your for fathers. That has all been done and over with for years…it is in the past. What I am concerned about, however, is the present…"

He looked over the Caspian, lowering his head so that his bare eyes were visible under his spectacles. He had a gleam in his eye…one of hope and pride.

"What do you mean?" Caspian asked, becoming uneasy at his all-knowing stare.

"It is you I am concerned about, my Prince." said the Professor as he continued to stare. Caspian's expression became a bit downtrodden.

"You don't think I have what it takes to be King…" he said as a statement rather than a question, and he tore his eyes from his Professor's gaze and let them linger on his twiddling fingers.

"No! Of course not! No…that is not it." Said the Professor, regretting his choice of previous words. "No…that is not what I'm concerned with. I have no doubt that you will make a great King. You hold the key to bringing peace and freedom back to Narnian." He said.

Caspian looked confused. "I highly disagree with your idea of me being a good King…but if that is not the case, then what are you concerned about?" he asked.

"That is just it." Said the Professor, leaving Caspian even more confused. "You do not believe in yourself."

Caspian looked up at the Professor, his eyes glazed as he tore his gaze from his fingers.

"Professor-"

"No, let me talk." The Professor ordered, cutting off any form of protest from the Prince. "You can think whatever you want, Caspian. You can think that you're not ready…that you're not strong…that you're not smart…but I'll tell you this once and only once…you are doing yourself no good!" he scolded.

"But how-"

"I have raised you since you were a young boy!" the Professor interjected him once more. "I have taught you everything you know…I have watched you work, fail, and finally succeed at everything you have put your mind to! I know you more than you know yourself! You can excel at anything if you put your mind to it and believe in yourself…and I am appalled that I have to tell you all of this! You should know by now that you are a magnificent and learned young man…and you are far greater than you give yourself credit for! And I am concerned because you still do not believe that you can do this…that you can win this fight for Narnia and bring peace back throughout the land! If you do not trust yourself, then what hope do we have?" he finally finished.

His words made Caspian feel like he had just had a bucket full of ice water poured down his shirt, making him feel stupid and disgraceful for not taking his responsibilities with a strong heart. But that freezing cold water was then followed by a warming feeling, the sun shining on his brightly…letting his heart bask in the touching words and heightened feeling that followed them.

But then…bitterness soon swelled up in his heart.

"How can a man would couldn't even save the most important person to him possibly become King?" he asked sadly, his thoughts falling on Jade.

The Professor signed sadly.

"My dear Prince…" the Professor said lovingly, finally understanding why Caspian was feeling so insecure and unsure of his abilities. Losing Jade to the enemy was a huge blow to his confidence. "Why do you plague your mind with such thoughts?"

Caspian shot his head back to his Professor, eyes raging with fury.

"How can you even say that? How can I not think about her?! She's all-" Caspian immediately stopped talking, realizing what he had almost said. It's not that it would hurt his pride admitting his feelings for a girl…it was just that…he had never once in his 20 years of life admitted that he felt anything for any girl. Let alone a girl who wasn't even from his world and would eventually have to go back to hers…

A hearty chuckled escaped the Professor, causing Caspian to burn with fury once more. What was so funny anyways?

"Well, well, well…it turned out just like I thought it would…"said the Professor proudly.

"Excuse me?!" Caspian asked a bit rudely.

The Professor settled down a bit. "Do not fret, young Prince. I do not think the situation is funny in the least…I am merely happy for you." He said happily.

Caspian's eyes softened a bit, but were still confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The Professor smiled at him. "Oh, dear boy. I think you can figure that out for yourself. Only you can understand how you feel…" he said all-knowingly. "But what I said before…I am not suggesting that you rid your thoughts of Jade completely…but the hopeless ones that cross your mind. The ones that tell you that you will never see Jade again or that you will not be able to rescue her for your Uncle."

Caspian looked up at him sadly. "But…I can't help but worry for her. There's no telling what my Uncle could be doing to her this very moment…"

"I understand. But as well as having faith in yourself, you should have faith in Jade as well. She is strong…she will pull through in the end and you have nothing to worry about. Just do what you think is right to save her…and do not allow such demons and witches to tempt you into using evil power to get her back. I know you want to save her with your own eyes and hands…and I know you will do just that. Just have faith…and patience…" said the Professor as he looked upon his young pupil and Prince with hope and pride.

Caspian had no idea what to say…

"Professor…thank you…" he said quietly. "I feel much better about myself…about everything." He said, his confidence slowly coming back to him with every passing second.

"Good." said the Professor, his job accomplished. "Because there is a new problem at hand that needs to be recognized…"

Caspian's head perked up. "What? What is it?" he asked.

"Well…" the Professor began, "I couldn't help but overhear a…_little_ argument between the High King and High King." He said sarcastically, causing Caspian to snort. Their argument had been anything but little. "It has come to my attention that a certain…snake seemed to escape?" he asked Caspian.

"Oh…erm…yeah." Caspian said, remembering the green snake that the wooden staff had turned into after the White Witch was brought back. He also remembered how the snake had circled the Witch's face continuously, never breaking its path. "It did escape. It was so weird…it was originally a wooden staff that the bird woman was chanting with…but then she threw it to the ground and-"

The Professor put up his hand once more, halting Caspian from speaking.

"I know…I know the story. I do not need details. But I'm sure you would like an explanation to the serious nature of how it escaped…and also the possible danger we are in due to its escape?" The Professor asked, and Caspian nodded eagerly.

"Very well then…but first…" he said looking to the opening a few feet away from the ledge where they were seated, "I think there is someone else who wants to hear the story…seeing as they have been listening in on our whole conversation…" he said as his stare continued to pierce into the darkness of the inside of the How.

Caspian followed his gaze, curious as to who had been eavesdropping on them. He put a hand towards his sword, but the Professor stopped him by putting his hand on Caspian's so that he was not able to draw his sword.

"There is no need for that, my Prince." He reassured Caspian. "And there is no need to hide any longer, my Queen." He said into the shadows as the figure seemed to be hesitant to come out into the open when they saw Caspian go for his sword.

But soon enough, the figure emerged, revealing an anxious looking Susan who seemed to be a bit nervous and scared from being caught. She looked at them both apologetically.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "I wasn't spying on you two, I swear! I just…" she stuttered, finding it hard to form words. "I just…I just wanted to know why I couldn't…kill it…" she said as if she were ashamed of her actions.

"Whatever do you mean, High Queen?" The Professor asked, but the way he said it made it seem like he knew exactly what she was talking about. And like he always did with Caspian, he forced her to voice her opinion and tell the story for herself.

"I…I tried to kill it..." She began, and it looked like she was about to cry. "I had my arrow all ready and was about to let go…but I couldn't…I looked into his eyes and couldn't and now it's free and it got away and it's all my fault because you said it was dangerous and if I have just killed it-" her excessive rambling apologies were brought to a halt as Caspian stood up from his seat and wrapped Susan in a hug, trying to comfort her as she continued to let hot tears of frustration spill from her eyes.

But this only lasted for a moment, until she continued to cry out apologies in one breath.

"And now we have something else to worry about and Peter's so mad at me and he says it's all my fault but it's not I had no idea what was happening and he should speak for himself because you and him nearly-"

"Calm down, Susan." The Professor cooed, his calm and collected voice somehow managing to settle down her incessant rambling cries.

Caspian continued to hug her assuringly so that she would stop feeling sorry for herself.

"It's ok, Susan." Caspian said, trying to make her feel better. By all means he did not hold any feelings other than strong friendship for her, but something snapped inside him after hearing her sob about how mad Peter was at her and how he was making her feel bad about herself. He did not think that _anyone_ deserved to be told off by Peter. "It's not your fault…don't cry…I'm sure the Professor has a _logical_ explanation as to why you couldn't kill it." He said, all too well knowing that the word "logical" would bring Susan back to her senses and make her want to listen.

And sure enough, Susan's head bobbed up from Caspian's shoulder and her tears seemed to be subsiding as soon as she heard the sacred word that meant so much to her.

She pulled herself away from Caspian, a bit embarrassed that she has used him like a tissue for her tears, but was nonetheless grateful. She then looked to the Professor expectantly.

"You know why I couldn't kill it?" she asked him, wiping stray tears from her lovely blue eyes.

The Professor nodded with a smile.

"I do indeed…now if you would both just take a seat I will tell you the story…" he said.

Caspian and Susan eagerly sat on the ledge across from him, their ears strained so that they would not miss a single thing the wise old Professor said.

This moment reminded Caspian of the night when he and Jade went to the astronomy tower to listen to the two stories the Professor found for them. It was not that he didn't enjoy Susan's company…but he would much rather have Jade by his side…listening to the story alongside him.

"Very well then…I assume that you are both familiar with the story of the creation of the world." Said the Professor said. Susan nodded, but Caspian shook his head. "I figured as much…" he said, thinking of how he could begin to explain.

"Sir…" said Susan, "…does this story have anything to do with the creation of Adam and Eve…and the story of the first sin ever committed?" she asked, her mind as sharp as always.

The Professor smiled. "My Dear Queen…your intelligence matches that of Jade's. You both cease to amaze me with your quick mind." He said, causing Susan to beam. Caspian, however, felt a slight twinge of dread from hearing Jade's name. "Yes…that is precisely what this story has to do with."

He turned to Caspian as he began his story.

"The terms "Daughter of Eve" and "Son of Adam" are as old as the beginning of time, when God created the First Man, Adam, and the First Woman, Eve. God created Adam and Eve in the beginning of time, and he put them into the Garden of Eden to live off the glories of the land. He created them in his image…perfect, and without sin. The Lord then put the man and woman in charge of all things on the earth…and The Creator gave Adam and Eve only one rule.

'_**And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Gen. 2:16, 17, NIV).'**_

Adam and Eve obeyed his demanding rule, and lived in the Garden of Eden happily…that is…until the old serpent came along. He enticed Eve to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She disobeyed The Creators one and only rule…and then gave some fruit to Adam. Adam also disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And because of their disobedience, the Lord opened their eyes to sin. They destroyed the perfect union they had with their Creator, and suddenly they knew separation for the first time." He finished.

Caspian stared at him with wonder and curiosity, how had always looked after the Professor had finished a story. Susan, however, seemed to be coming to an understanding.

"The serpent…" Susan said quietly. "It was his fault! He tempted her!" she said, relating her current situation with this one.

"Indeed, he did. But it was no entirely his fault…" said the Professor, causing Susan to shrink a bit and become ashamed of herself again. "He was very tempting…but in the end it was Eve's choice to disobey the Lord."

"But Professor…I thought you said it wasn't Susan's fault?" asked Caspian, not wanted Susan to start crying again.

"Oh, by all means it is not! These are different times…different situations…different kinds of magic…" he said, causing Susan to lighten up a bit. "It is true, Eve was most to blame. It was her choice…she was merely tempted…Eve was not spellbinded by magic or entranced by that same Serpent."

"You mean…Susan was hypnotized?" Caspian asked.

"Not exactly…" said the Professor deep in thought. "It's something like it…a very high and powerful form of temptation."

"Explain…please." Susan pleaded.

"Ever since the dawn of time when the Serpent caused Eve to commit the first sin ever committed by Man, the cunning animal gained a power over Daughters of Eve from that time forward. That snake was the main cause for sin to be apparent throughout the whole world…therefore…he gained something great and terrible" he paused, and looked Susan in the eye. "That snake…the serpent that tempted Eve…he did not perish after his trap was completely…"

"_Eve was not spellbinded by magic or entranced by that same Serpent."_ The recent words of the Professor burned inside Caspian's head.

"Wait!" Caspian said, an idea coming to mind.

"_That snake…the serpent that tempted Eve…he did not perish after his trap was completely…"_

"That snake! It's the same snake that tempted Eve!" Caspian shrieked. "It's the same snake…isn't it…" he asked, now a bit unsure of himself. That tale was from the beginning of time…how could that snake possibly still be alive.

"Exactly." The Professor said bluntly, causing both Susan and Caspian to stare at him disbelievingly.

Caspian was amazed that he had actually figured something out, and Susan was in total disbelief of the logic of the situation.

"But that's impossible…" Susan said, a bit frustrated. "How could that…that _thing_ still be alive!"

"My dear Queen," said the Professor, "If I'm not mistaken…hasn't it been 1300 years since the time when you, your siblings, and Aslan brought down the White Witch…"

"Yes." She said straightening up to his words.

"Well then…if it's possible to bring back someone who is 1300 years old, who is to say that you can't bring something back from the dawn of time? Do not tell me you think that the Lord just watched helplessly as the Serpent destroyed the balance of his perfect world? No…he cursed the snake. Originally…all creatures walked the earth with hands and feet, but once he heard of the Serpent's deed…he took away his hands and feet…cursing him to crawl on the earth on his belly until the end of time…making his life a painful struggle," He said knowingly. "You need to learn to be more open to the possibilities of magic, Susan…doubt is a dangerous and ignorant quality for a mighty Queen such as yourself to possess."

"But…I'm sorry…I just don't understand." She said quietly. "I just don't understand how they got brought back from death."

"Me either." Caspian piped in. "How did that bird woman and that wolverine bring them back from dead? What was that chant…or spell that they did?" he asked, as curious as Susan was.

"I am not aware of the spell, my dear Prince and High Queen, for it is deep and evil magic that even Aslan himself would not associate himself with. No doubt he is aware of it…bit it is not wise to tamper with ceased spirits and death. For if you wish to bring back one evil witch from her dead…everything else of equal evil comes with it. Therefore, even though Nikabrik and his friends only intended to bring back the White Witch, they brought back the cause of the First Sin…the only thing that can match the Witch's evil." He turned to Caspian. "Maybe that will give you an idea of how much power she possessed…"

"What about the snake, sir?" Susan asked, not wanting him to get off topic.

"The snake…is and entirely different problem. Its possible danger must not be overlooked, however, there more important tasks at hand." He said.

"Well then what can we do?" asked Caspian desperately.

The Professor signed. "There is nothing we can do now, I'm afraid. I am certain the Serpent will lay low for awhile before it attempts to tempt another Daughter of Eve. So…for now, just don't let your guard down…and do not trust in everything you see. The snake has lived for so very many years…entwining himself with evil and powers that are beyond the White Witch's, making him a master of sin and of illusion. He is tricky…tempting…even more so that the Witch, Caspian. Do not underestimate him…"

Caspian and Susan looked at each other uneasily…not wanting to know what evil The Serpent would prove himself capable of in the near future…

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**Alright! Thanks everyone for reading. And like I said above…don't worry! The story is still on and will be continuing! I also thought that when it was done, if I still have time left in the summer, I would either post a sequel or write an OCxWilliam Moseley love story (random...I know but I was inspired the other day).**

**So I guess we can have a vote in the near future as to what you want…but feel free to review with your choice anyways!**

**And of course…don't forget to review this chapter!**

**Oh and Jade will be back again next chapter DON'T WORRY**

**JUST REVIEW!**


	20. Chapter 20: Where Loyalties Lie

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Sorry this chapter took awhile…my relatives from Florida came up and I've just been really stressed out and at a loss of inspiration. Life these days is tough, and it's hard to find time for myself anymore really. But no fear! I will pull through and finish this story!**

**And I just got a new job so my posts won't be as frequent as usual…but still the story will continue! And thank you to every one who has continued to give me their condolences on my parent's divorce. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Just…shocking and unexpected.**

**But anyways, I'll remind you again that if this story is done before the summer is, then I'll either write a sequel to it or a OCxWilliam Moseley love story. So let me know which one you want more!**

**And seeing as I have nothing left to ramble about, on with the story…CHAPTER 20 ALREADY! Oh and Jade's back!**

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**Chapter 20: Where Loyalties Lie**

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**Your POV **

Time was irrelevant.

You weren't getting out of these chains anytime soon…so did time even matter anymore? Sure…it probably did for Caspian and the others, seeing as they were most definitely mulling over how little of it they had.

For you, on the other hand, it was almost as if you didn't have time…but you didn't not have it. You didn't know if that was good or bad…not having any sense of time whatsoever…sitting on your bottom in a rotting cell…as the rest of the Narnian world passed by and did all the work for you…as you continued to sit on your bottom.

You had all the time in the world…but nothing to do with it. You were trapped with time.

You had no idea how long you had been sitting in your cell, how many minutes, hours, or days had passed you by…

All you knew was that you were lonely, and couldn't think about anything else except for how long it seemed to be since you had seen, talked with, felt…kissed Caspian.

You missed him.

Your hands reached down to your ankles, attempting to dig them under the chain buckle and massage the area where the buckle was strangling your skin. The straps were way too tight and painful, and you knew that your ankles would be swollen and red once you got them off.

…if you ever got them off.

Then you heard footsteps.

You flinched from the first sound you had heard ever since you got here. You straightened up your back in your sitting position and shifted yourself so that you were against the wall, as far away from the bars as possible.

Your heart seemed to be beating out of your chest. This was it…your best friend wasn't the one walking down the steps to come greet you, it was the enemy. The enemy who was trying to annihilate Narnia…the enemy who you had failed to defeat that fateful night…the enemy who wants Caspian's head…the enemy who had tried to kill you before, and most likely would now.

How and why you got yourself thrown into this whole situation in the first place, you still had no idea. But right now…you may be breathing your last breathes in Narnia.

"_I wonder what will happen to me in the real world if I die here in Narnia…"_ you thought unfortunately as two Talmerine soldiers came into view.

One of them held a ring of keys in his hand, both giving you hard glares.

You continued to press your back against the wall, your eyes narrowed in fear and suspicion. You felt like a deer in headlights, only there was no dark forest to run away into.

You pulled your knees to your chest and hugged your cold body, shivering in fear and in loss of body heat and the soldier with the keys unlocked your cell and opened the door with an eerie creak.

"His Majesty has requested your appearance." The one guard said.

Your eyes widened a bit at his comment.

"_King…they replaced Caspian…" _you thought bitterly, a sneaking suspicion as to who was currently King coming to your mind. You snarled at the thought.

"Time to go." The same soldier said as he roughly lifted you by your upper arm, having to drag you unwillingly to your feet. "You don't have a choice." He said with a laugh as you continued to struggle.

"_Great…just great…"_ you thought as the two soldiers proceeded to drag you out of your cell.

……………………………………………………………………

Surprisingly, you didn't find yourself ready to be executed or a noose around your thin neck. Instead, you were sitting in the same position and place you had the first day you got here.

You were in the throne room, sitting in a large chair in the middle with your hands and feet bound.

"_Well this is oddly familiar…" _you thought sarcastically.

Only this time, the room was quite empty. None of the many Lords were there; their seats were cold and empty. The General wasn't there…the Lord with the curly mustache wasn't there…Caspian wasn't there…

The room seemed almost vacant, and you actually wished that there was a bunch of cold glares being shot your way. The silence was driving you mad. You hated awkward silences…

And the only thing to relieve you of your loneliness was the hard, blazed glare of the man you feared over everyone in Narnia…Lord Miraz. Well, he was technically King Miraz now, but you would refuse at all costs to call him that. Caspian was the rightful King to the throne…not this clown.

But…that was what scared you even more. Not that his person didn't scare the hell out of you by just looking at him, but now…now he had power. So much power. Power that he would most likely use to attack Narnia and everyone in it…or kill you. You couldn't help but shudder at the thought of how much power he held over you.

His gaze penetrated you, and you felt so incredibly small. Your fear radiated off your petite body, and Miraz looked smug.

"Well, well, well. Look who has finally returned to _my_ Kingdom." He laughed. "Jade…it is so good to have you back…the pleasure is all mine, really."

You growled. Even though you were scared out of your mind, didn't mean that you weren't pissed off. He was acting like all of this was a joke!

But then, as if he could read your mind, his face became a bit more serious, and he narrowed his eyes at you.

"Did you really think that you and your _Narnian_ friends could get away so easily? And only giving me a small parting gift in return?" he said, holding up his bandaged hand. The hand that you had shot with your crossbow.

A small smile came to your face.

Miraz's eyes seemed to light on fire as he watched you continue to smile. He took a few dangerous steps in your direction before quickly stopping…catching himself before he did something. He stood at his spot, and seemed to be thinking something over in his head. He smiled with his eyes when an idea apparently formed in his mind, and he picked up where he left off as he continued to walk towards you.

"You know…" he began, "you are lucky that you are a little girl, for it would be very crucial to my reputation and title as King if I were to ever be seen striking a harmless woman. However…" he said in a slippery, evil tone as he looked around the empty room, causing you to fear for your defenseless body, "as far as I can tell…you and I are alone."

He stepped in front of you, brandishing his injured hand. When he raised his arm as looked like he was about to strike, you shut your eyes as tight as you could, preparing yourself for the hard impact…

But nothing came. Moments passed…and he had yet to strike you.

"My dear child," he said, trying to sound gentle but coming off more like a dying horse. You didn't think it was even possible for someone as evil as him to sound gentle in the least bit. "What kind of cruel, heartless, King do you take me for? He said with mock hurt in his tone.

You wanted to let your tongue run wild, and string off all the possible adjectives that you believed described him. You almost opened your mouth until…

"_Don't answer him, idiot!" _you mind yelled at you, causing you to come back to your senses and keep quiet.

"I do not intend to hit you, my dear." He said, but you had a hard time believing him. There had to be some catch. "That is…as long as you tell me what I need to hear."

You almost wanted to laugh.

"_Of course…I should have expected as much."_ You thought bitterly. _"Good luck in getting any information out of me."_

There was no way in hell you would betray Caspian and your fellow Narnians. Even you knew little about the army, you would not dare spill any personal or crucial information to the enemy.

You would not betray Narnia. You would not betray Aslan. You would not betray Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, or any of the another Narnians who were risking their lives at this very moment to protect Narnia. You would not betray the many other Narnians who had already laid down their lives for the good of their land. You would not betray the land that you had come to know and love as well. And most importantly…

You would not betray Caspian. Well…not again at least. Breaking promises to the young man you have learned to care for so much were in your past. You learned your lesson…and now there was no way you would betray his trust in you any more. You cared about him too much.

"Now, young lady, if you wouldn't mind I would like to know-"

"You can forget it." You shot him, silencing him before he could get his thought across. He looked abashed, and tried with much failure to hide his anger. He stared at you awhile before choosing to speak once more.

"Excuse me, _young lady_. But maybe I did not make myself clear." He said, straightening up in front of you. "I am offering you mercy. And it would be in your best decision to take any form of compassion or clemency that I offer you. Otherwise…I will have no other choice but to get what I want…using force!" he said the last part loudly, as he brought the back of his bandaged hand across your cheek.

You fell back into your chair from the impact, your head hitting the hard wood with great force. You let out a cry of pain, the place where his hand hit you stinging with pain.

Tears brimmed your eyes. This reminded you very much of the many beatings your brothers had given you. You never gave in to them and their random and pointless assaults…so there was no way you would let a few red handprints make you talk. Even if they did hurt like hell…

You looked back up at him, dead in the eye. You refused to cry. He may scare the shit out of you, but no way would you give in to his little game. You would show him that you weren't any ordinary "young lady". You were strong in your own ways, and you would not betray Narnia.

Your determined and newly found confident glare only made him angrier.

"Now, I will ask the question again. And this time…no interruptions." He said in a deadly tone. "I would like to know just about how many troops your dear Prince Caspian has rounded up."

After a few seconds of thinking, you realized that you couldn't answer that question even if you wanted to. You had seen so very many creatures and many different kinds of weapons…but you had no idea what all those factors added up to. Heck…you doubted that even Caspian or Peter knew the extent of the Narnians. There could still be more of them in hiding like Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, and Nikabrik had been, totally unaware that there was a war going on…

"Hmm…a lot." You answered Miraz jokingly, not at all intending to give him any credible information.

But instead of receiving another blow, you heard Miraz chuckle instead.

"I see…" he said, "it seems as though your dear Caspian has refused to tell you much about his army…smart boy. I would never trust such sacred information with the likes of a careless, pathetic girl."

All your confidence seemed to shrink away at his comment. You knew he was just using reverse psychology or something to get you to feel guilty and tell him what he wanted to hear. But you couldn't help but feel a bit prickled by his hurtful words. Did Caspian and Peter really not tell you anything because they didn't trust you incase something like this happened?

"Besides, you are of no importance to Caspian or his rising army. He need not burden you with such information. He most likely sets a few hours time aside for you and his other _whores_…times when he wishes to take a break from his hard work. You hold no deep value to him except for the pleasure you supply him with." He finished with an evil smirk.

"I am _no one's _whore!" you shouted at once, highly insulted. Miraz really had you going for a second there, but this was just too much.

You knew you…and you were most definitely NOT Caspian's whore…nor did he have any for that matter. You knew Caspian for quite a while now, and you thought you had a pretty good idea of the kind of person he was.

"My dear…how sad." He said with fake empathy. "You mean nothing to him and you don't even know it. Sure, you may not be his whore…yet, but that still does not mean you hold any significance to him whatsoever." He began to circle you, filling your head with more outrageous ideas that just could not be true. "Think about it…if he really did care about you…wouldn't he have already come to your rescue? It has been two days now…surely enough time for him and his little friends to think up another night raid to come and save you. So if he wanted to save you, he would have already tried by now…don't you think so?" he asked innocently.

"Caspian's not stupid!" you shouted back. "It would be highly dangerous to plan another attack right after a failed one…even a little girl of no value like me knows that. And you call yourself King?"

Miraz growled, and stopped pacing around you and stood in front of you. He knelt down so that you two were eye level, and he held onto the arm rests of your chair so that his form was hovering mere inches away from yours.

"Don't tempt me to hit you again." He said in a low growl. "You can think whatever you want…you can think that there is still hope, that you _Narnians_ could ever _dream_ to beat us, that Caspian cares ever so deeply about you, however…" he bent his head lower to yours, his lips right next to your ear, "you are forgetting that I have known Caspian ever since he was a little boy. I watched him grow, watched him fight, I was practically his father! I know all there is to know about him, so don't you dare think for one second that you know what's going on in his head more than I do. Caspian has no need for wenches at such a low stature as you…I know this for a fact." He said, pulling away from you.

You looked up at him with tearing eyes.

"How do you know?" you asked suspiciously.

Miraz chuckled. "Oh…let's just say I know a certain daughter who was promised to Caspian a long time ago…" he said looking off into the distance, as if recalling events that happened a long time ago. "It was his father's doing, and Caspian was old enough at the time to understand and accept the consequences. The man's name was Lord Ramada, and he was one of the mighty Seven Lords of Narnia. However, once Caspian's father "died", I banished the Seven Lords from my Kingdom, and they were never seen again. Such a shame too…it was one of Caspian's father's greatest wishes for him…to marry such a beautiful woman. And because of that, Caspian will most definitely wish to find her and follow his father's request in taking her hand for marriage someday, however…that is, if he survives…"

You wanted to punch Miraz in the face. You wanted to punch something…someone in the face.

"_How could this be true…Caspian is promised to someone else?"_

You didn't quite know why the thought made you sick to your stomach. Of course, you had never imagined Caspian asking for your own hand in marriage…you were way too young for that.

But still…the thought of Caspian falling in love with some other girl that he barely even knew made you feel the urge to cry.

You wanted to tell your subconscious otherwise, that Caspian really cared for you and would not go looking for someone else if he had you…but still.

You couldn't lie to yourself anymore…you never really pictured yourself living here in Narnia after the war was over. No, you always pictured yourself going back and becoming the person you always wanted to be. You would take care of your little sister for the rest of the summer, and then fly off to England where you would start the rest of your life as an aspiring journalist. There, you would go to school and save up money so that one day you could bring Alex there with you…and you would both live happily ever after.

You didn't exactly see yourself in royal gowns and a crown, sitting in a throne beside your husband, King Caspian. You didn't see yourself as a Queen…

You had always pictured yourself going back home when the war had died down. That way, Caspian and everyone would find a way for you to go home and you would live the rest of your life the way you were supposed to.

You had never planned on falling in love with someone in a completely different world…with someone who was a Prince, promised to another woman…

…with someone who you most definitely could never have.

But you were, and you were finding it hard to realize that you two could never really be together. Miraz was right, there were so many things and mysteries you would never know about Caspian…so many things holding you two apart from each other.

You shook your head, trying to rid your minds of such thoughts, but it was to no avail. You heart burned unpleasantly, and Miraz took notice of your uneasiness right away.

"The truth hurts, my dear," he said quietly, trying to take advantage of your fragile state of mind, "but no need to worry anymore. You're wanted here in my Kingdom, and I can help you. I just need a few favors in return…crucial information I know you have. But once that is all said and done, you are welcome to live happily and freely in my Kingdom…I promise. I will not shut you out like Caspian has. Don't worry about any of that…it's his fault that he didn't recognize a good thing when he had one."

You looked up to him with lost eyes, like the last puppy of the litter who no one wanted to buy. You truly felt alone.

"Dear…it is time to choose where your loyalties lie…tell me all the secrets of Narnia. Tell me everything."

You were about to open your mouth to respond, when suddenly, a sounding roar echoed in your head, causing you to jump a bit. The roar was then followed by a familiar voice.

"_I just want you to know…that I…that you're very important to me…"_

Caspian…

Your eyes widened, but not with newfound confidence or understanding. Caspian's words from a few nights ago did not console you from how you were feeling now; your mind was still plagued with uncertainty. But this new feeling…it was more like…realization.

Your head snapped up to meet Miraz's gaze.

However Caspian felt for you, that did not matter right now. What mattered was that you keep your promise to him and all of Narnia. Love would have to wait…there were more important matters at hand right now. However you and Caspian felt for each other, that would be dealt with when this war was over.

Because right now, what mattered was that Narnia could possibly be annihilated…and you had to do whatever you could to prevent such a disaster from occurring.

Whatever dirt Miraz had on Caspian that he was trying to use against you, that would not work, because you could not let your feelings (however strong they may be) get in the way of your duty- as well as Caspian's- to protect Narnia.

"I'm sorry…_Miraz_" you spat, refusing to call him 'Your Majesty' or 'King', "but I have decided where my loyalties lie…and they reside with neither your needs nor Caspian's feelings towards me…but with Narnia."

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**Ok…so I kinda feel like I did a crappy job on this chapter…but like I said before I was at a loss of inspiration and I've been having a very stressful week as you can imagine…**

**Next chapter will be up as soon as I can, and don't forget to review please!**

**Until next time…**


	21. Chapter 21: Like a Dream of a Dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, so sorry again for not posting every day and such anymore. Like I said before, I've got a job now which is eating up most of my time and the divorce thing is getting in the way of my writing a bit. But don't worry, I will continue to post as fast as I can!**

**And also, I would like to inform you all of a new and really good Narnia fanfic that I have been reading. It's called 'The Narnian Guardian' and it's by Sky-Pirate325. So you all should check that out! It's off to a really good start and I'm sure you'll like it!**

**And lastly, I felt that maybe some of you were confused with the last part of my recent chapter. It's the part where Miraz tells Jade about how Caspian is promised to Lord Ramada's daughter and how he banished the 7 great Lords of Narnia. In case some of you didn't know, this bit of information is actually true and is from the book ****The Voyage of the Dawn Treador****, which is the next installment to the book series after ****Prince Caspian****. So if any of you are a bit confused, I suggest reading the books…they're a lot better than the movies. And the sequel I will write eventually to this fanfic will be based around ****The Dawn Treador****, so you can take that little bit of information I added to this series and remember it for when the sequel comes out- it will be important!**

**Haha ok…I've said enough. On with the story…**

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**Chapter 21: Like A Dream of a Dream **

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**Your POV **

You were proud to say that you had never broken a single bone in your body. No doubt, you didn't always deserve to get away unharmed with some of the stunts you pulled in the past, but nevertheless you had still never broken a single bone in your body.

That is, until now…

After boldly telling Lord Miraz how you refused to give him any top secret information about Narnia, he had bolted into a rage. He had viciously pulled you up off your seat by your upper arm, shaking you violently. He then proceeded to throw you through the air, and you landed a few feet away from you chair. And with your legs and arms being tied, there was no way for you to guide your fall and you landed hard on your right arm. An unsoundly crack followed shortly after your fall, telling you that your arm was not in any good condition.

You didn't know if you broke it, fractured it, or even sprained it. You had never experienced any of those feelings, so you didn'y know what it was like to injure your arm as such. But what you did know was that you had never felt this much stinging pain in one area before, and you were sure that it was more than just sore. All you knew was that the pain was most unpleasant, and you were sure that you would not be able to find a doctor for miles in this place.

However, amidst all the pain and tears as you sat in your lonely cell, you couldn't recall a time where you had been so pleased with yourself. You felt more proud than ever thinking about how you just told off Lord Miraz, the man you feared over all the rest here at Cair Paravel.

You had never stood up to your step brothers like that before, they were always able to push you around and make you do whatever they wanted. But now…what you did about ten minutes ago made your heart swell in pride. You felt like you could climb any mountain, no matter how snowy and high…like you could swim any ocean, no matter how deep and cold…like you could do anything if you set your mind to it. You didn't know what brought about this new mindset…but then again, Narnia was full of surprises. No doubt it had brought out the best person in you.

"_I have decided where my loyalties lie…and they reside with neither your needs nor Caspian's feelings towards me…but with Narnia."_

Newfound confidence gave birth into your being, giving you the only reason to smile in this godforsaken place.

But no matter how many good feelings raced inside you, you still felt a twinge of guilt and pain when your thoughts rested on Caspian.

Caspian…the first person in this new world to show you kindness and friendship…the man you trusted above all others…the one who you could now not imagine living without.

You hated the thought of depending on others, you had always thought yourself to be headstrong and independent…never wanting to rely on someone else to live. But now…now after spending so much time with Caspian… telling him things about yourself that you had only begun to understand yourself…experiencing this new world with him… waking up only to see him watching over you as you slept… having him save your life more than once…always having someone to lean up against for support and friendship…nearing death at his side…and surviving it without him…you really couldn't imagine life without him at this point.

Whether it be in friendship or more…you would just feel so empty and lonesome.

But its not like you could just drop your whole life up until this point to go and run off with Caspian and leave everything forgotten in your real world. You still had so many things to do and so many responsibilities.

First of all…there was Alex. No way in hell where you going to abandon her. She counted on you all her life, and you had always been like a mother figure to her. You loved her more than every stick and stone in both your world and Narnia, and you would give your life up in an instant for her.

As tempted and upset as you may be afterwards, you knew if the future gave you a choice between Caspian and Alex…you would choose Alex in a heartbeat. No one was more important than her to you.

You could see her now…her long black hair and deep blue eyes…how you missed your little clone copy sister of yours. You even remembered how she used to like it when you called her…

"_Wait…what did I used to call her for short?" _you thought to yourself, the nickname you used for her on a daily basis slipping from your mind. _"Als…Aly…Oh! Right…Al" _you remembered before you started to panic. How could that bit of information slip your mind...

_"Oh well...no big deal..."_ you thought.

Second of all, there was a whole new road of life waiting for you in England. Your father had left you half of his legacy and life's earnings in his death, and they would definitely be put to good use. Your college education had already been fully paid for, and you would make your father proud and be the most successful and intelligent daughter you could be. You would not let his last name be in vain…you would wear the title proudly and hopefully he could be equally as proud of you wherever he was.

You could see him now…his stiff posture whenever he was mad at you, the sprawled out way in which he slept when he would sleep in late on weekends. It all seemed familiar, however, you couldn't seem to picture his face in your mind. You tried recalling his facial features, but to no use. His face seemed blurry…but you blamed that much on the fact that he had died six years ago. But still…what kind of a daughter forgot what her father looked like?!

And lastly, even though you despised your mother and step family with every fiber in your body, you knew you could not completely abandon them either. Sure…you could "get away", hence the whole college in England idea. But you could not bring yourself to completely cut off all ties with them. No matter how much you hated them…they were still family, and you might end up needing them one day.

Again, no matter how hard the decision may be, you could not put Caspian over your family.

Your mother, Tyler, Ryan, Ben, and Mike…you could see them all now…or could you?

"_Wait…"_ you thought for a moment. _"Can I…?"_

You froze.

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't picture any of them in your mind. You knew their names...but you couldn't see them.

"Impossible!" you fiercely whispered. But no matter how hard you strained your memory, you could not recall what your family looked like (save for your real father and Alex).

You panicked, eyes darting back and forth and mind twisting in concentration.

"No…" you said quietly. How could this be possible? Were you really losing your memories of your life back in America?

You almost forgot what your sister's nickname was, and even the image of your father's face was blurry. It was obviously no coincidence…

"How can this be?!" you said, this time more loudly. You had only been in Narnia for a few weeks. How could you possibly be losing your memory already? Was it something about Narnia that was making you forget? If so, then you definitely wanted to get home as soon as possible. You could not bare the fact that you may eventually forget about your father and sister.

Your thoughts then dragged into the Pevensies. You thought about how they had abandoned their home in England, and how they could have possibly done such a thing. Didn't they have family as well? Didn't they think about their responsibilities back in England as well? Why did they stay here? What made them want to live in Narnia instead?

"…_was it because they eventually forgot everything about their home?"_ you thought.

You then recalled the first conversation you had with the two girl siblings. It was quite odd…your memory from back home seemed to be getting more blurred by the second, yet your memories from your stay here in Narnia were crisper than ever. You could recall every moment and conversation word for word, image for image. Strange...

"_You see…Narnian time works differently." You listened intently as they began to explain._

"_We weren't originally from here. We lived in this place called England ever since we were young. But then, a huge war started, and we were forced to live in the countryside of England. The house we lived in was huge, and we found this wardrobe in one of the rooms that led to here. It truly was incredible." She said with a smile._

"_We loved it so much here, and we didn't want to go back. We lived here for years and years as Kings and Queens. But then…" Lucy's voice became sadder as she continued, "I guess we accidentally stumbled back through the wardrobe one day…and went back to England. We tried to get back…but we couldn't. We were stuck as kids again."_

"_Wait…why did you turn back into kids?" you asked._

"_Well, like I said before, time works differently here in Narnia. For example, ever since we left here, we had only been living in England for about a year until we were called back again by the horn. And while only a year had passed for us…here at Narnia, 1300 years have gone by." Lucy explained._

"_Wow…" you said in complete shock. That was quite a story. Your brain was having a hard time processing all the information._

"_Yeah…it's complicated." Susan said. "It was hard to deal with…losing our home here. Especially for Peter. Technically, we're over 1300 years old, not to mention we should be adults. He never really got used to it." She said sadly, but suddenly cheered up a bit. "But, it's good to be back! Sure beats being in England."_

The memory made you shudder. Lucy and Susan had talked about England like it wasn't their real home…like Narnia took England's place after they came here.

You worried for your own sake, for you could feel yourself slowly falling in love with Narnia as well.

…could that be what was making you forget?

And if so…then it wouldn't be long until all your memories from your life in America were totally erased, with only memories and dreams of Narnia to replace them.

"How awful…" you said to yourself.

You loved Narnia, it was where your loyalties lie at this time. But you didn't want to forget anymore…

Your racing thoughts eventually put you to sleep and you dreamed of the night you and Caspian escaped from Cair Paravel.

You wished you had dreamt of something else, more like memories from your home in hopes that you would remember something important you forgot. But alas…your dreams were forever plagued to remind you of things you already knew.

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You woke to the sound of footsteps coming down to your cell again. You sat up curiously. Even though you had no sense of time, it still couldn't have been too long since you and Miraz had your "civilized" conversation.

In stepped the two guards from earlier, only this time they were accompanied by Miraz and his General Glozelle. The looks on the faces of the two guards were unreadable as stone, but Miraz and his General looked rather smug to you.

Your eyes narrowed at their expressions, unsure of what to expect.

They halted on the other side of the cell while the one guard unlocked the gate.

"And here I thought our lovely chat was over." You said sarcastically, unsure of where this newfound courage and boldness was erupting from. But then again, if you could stand up to someone once, why not be able to do so again?

"You would be wise to hold your tongue to the King." The General ordered, not pleased that you were insulting his King.

You clenched your jaw, figuring it really would be unwise to spur up more trouble than necessary. However, that did not mean that you were scared or anxious with the arrival of Miraz. You would still not hesitate to make yourself heard and talk, but rather in a more polite manner.

You let out a resentful gasp as on of the guards lifted you up off your feet and out of the cell by your upper arm…your right upper arm. The pain became momentarily unbearable, and you gave the guard a knowing glare which only made him squeeze it tighter.

Your gasp of pain only brought a smile to Miraz's face, and he intentionally brought his injured hand up to his beard and stroked it…almost like he was reminding you of something.

"An eye for an eye, Miss Jade." He said discreetly so that he would give nothing away about how he struck you or threw you. The two guards and the General seemed to ignore his comment, as if they really didn't care less if he hit you or not.

Miraz then turned to his General. "She will ride with you." He said, and the one guard handed you over to General Glozelle. He turned to the two guards. "Round the troops. We shall leave immediately." He said to them. And with that, they were off.

General Glozelle began to do the same and turned to leave the room, pushing you along with him. However, you fought him every inch of the way.

"Stop it! Where are you taking me!? Where are we going?!" you demanded like a child, thrashing about. You had the impression that you were being led off to your death or something.

"No need to worry, my dear." Miraz said with an evil smile. "You will be reunited with your dear Caspian soon enough.

His comment caused your body to freeze, making it easier for General Glozelle to lead you off to the stable where you would mount your horse.

"Caspian…" you said in a whisper to yourself.

You were going to be reunited with him? But that was simply impossible…Miraz wouldn't just hand you back over or anything. Why on earth would you being going back to…

"_Oh no…"_ you thought desperately.

Your head shot up to Miraz, the evil smile still lingering on his features.

"Caspian and I aren't going to be reunited…you're going to attack him, aren't you?" you screeched at Miraz. He let of a chuckle, but did not respond to you. "Aren't you?!" you yelled much more loudly this time, which caused him to turn to you.

His cold eyes bore into yours, reawakening the fear that you had tried so hard to suppress.

"Narnia is about to be annihilated…" he said in a deep, threatening voice. "You and Caspian will be reunited…in death."

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**Caspian's POV (Dream)**

"_Quit it, Jade." Caspian said with a chuckle as the raven hair beauty continued to poke his side. She giggled. _

"_I can't help it." She said with a smile. "I'm so happy!" _

_She poked Caspian again, who in turn pushed her away playfully._

"_Well then find someone else to poke with joy." He said in mock anger. Her giggles died down, but the smile did not leave her face._

"_I'm sorry. I'm just…so happy!" she said again as she jumped up and down. _

"_Yes…I know." Caspian said. "I can tell." He said as he watched her jump up and down with joy, the happiness spurring a similar feeling within him._

_Could this moment get any more perfect?_

"_I'm just glad that everything's finally over." She said, a smile grazing her lips. She turned to Caspian. "Aren't you?"_

_Caspian smiled, reaching out to her tiny form. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. "Of course I am, Jade."_

_She became warm at his touch, and rested her head gently on his chest. She sighed in content as he played with her hair, running his fingers through the messy black locks._

_Caspian had never felt so happy before in his entire life._

"_Jade…" he whispered into her hair. She was so silent in his arms, almost as if the beating of his heart was putting her to sleep._

"_Jade…you're my only hope." He said softly._

_Jade looked up at him a bit confused. "Pardon?" she asked cutely._

"_I said, you're my only hope." He repeated. "This is all so new to me…being King of Narnia…ruler over all this land. I must admit, I'm quite lost and overwhelmed at the moment…I'm unsure of how to take in all these responsibilities." He stared into her eyes lovingly. "You're the only hope I have that everything will be alright eventually. Even if I don't, you believe in me. I don't think I can do this all on my own…but I know that you think I can. And for that reason, I have hope and faith in myself. Thank you…"_

_Jade giggled. "But I didn't do anything!" she said innocently. _

_Caspian couldn't help but join in on her tinkling giggling. "But you have!" he argued. "Even if you don't know it, you have. You just don't know…" he said trailing off, his eyes now fixated on the unknown._

_Jade's giggling died down, and her expression became more serious as Caspian seemed to be daydreaming and lost in his thoughts._

"_Don't know what?" she asked, but Caspian did not respond. He seemed to still be in deep thought._

_Jade reached out to his shoulder and shook him lightly, causing his eyes to catch hers once more. _

"_Caspian…don't know what?" she asked again, her green eyes glimmering with curiosity and worry._

_Caspian stared down at her small form lovingly, his eyelids half closed as he looked down at Jade as if she was the only thing that mattered anymore. His lips quivered, anxious of how she would react if he told her how deeply he felt for her…_

"_You just don't know…how important you are to me…" he said quietly._

_Jade's eyes widened a bit in shock, and she stood speechless. Caspian took this time to reach out to her, cupping the back of her head with his hand and stroking her hair once more. He realized that playing with Jade's hair was one of his favorite pastimes. _

_However, a few seconds after Caspian reached out to her, she gave an alarming twitch. She jumped from fright, realizing what Caspian was doing and backed away from his touch even though it felt so good._

_Caspian looked confused. "Jade?" he asked worriedly, now becoming a bit alarmed himself._

"_Caspian…" she said quietly, almost reluctantly, "you know I can't-"_

"_**CASPIAN!"**_

_Dream Over_

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**Caspian's POV **

"CASPIAN!"

Caspian awoke at once, the sound of Peter's voice causing him to sit up quickly and automatically.

"CASPIAN!" Peter called out again.

"I'm awake! What is it?!" Caspian said a bit rudely as he glared at Peter for once again waking him up from the same dream about Jade that he had the morning after the night raid on the Castle.

Peter glared back at him. They hadn't really been getting along ever since their fight. Peter's ego was still a bit bruised (as well as his body) from the beating he took, and the vicious words Peter threw back at Caspian still haunted the Prince's thoughts on a daily basis.

"Come quick…there's something you need to see." Peter said monotonously. He waited until Caspian got up from his sleeping spot on the ground and led the young Prince to the source of all the commotion.

He led Caspian to a high ledge in the front of the How that overlooked the whole land of Narnia. Cair Paravel could be seen in full view…but that was not where everyone's gaze was situated at the moment.

No…what Caspian saw was far worse…

The whole Telmarine army was spewed across the land, flags raised high above signaling that they were declaring war…

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**Alright, sorry! Don't hate me for posting so late! I'm trying my best to get these out as quickly as possible.**

**And I PROMISE that I will not abandon the series and just leave it unfinished. Don't worry! I will most definitely not leave you all stranded with no ending!**

**But yeah, on the bright side, things are going much better for me than they have before so I will try to post more frequently. But in the meantime…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22: These New Feelings

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Alright here we go…another installment to my Prince Caspian story!**

**I don't have work today or tomorrow, so I'll try to write as much as I can, but I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. I'll try to write it by this weekend. I'll try to get back to my posting every few days…I really will. I miss writing :(**

**And again…an all Caspian chapter :)**

**But yeah, I really don't have much to say so on with the story… **

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**Chapter 22: These New Feelings**

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian and the Pevensies gazed on at the flowing sea of warrior with wide and frightened eyes. From there spot high from above, they could see the whole entire army, even the lone troops who were looming in the shadows of the forest. They could see everything…and things weren't looking too good for Narnia.

"Looks like they're showing their true numbers…" Peter said as his eyes scanned over the army over and over, not really taking notice in any of the soldiers.

Caspian looked at him angrily from the corner of his eye, but kept his head turned the other way. "I told you…no one has ever taken their castle before. That means that any attack, even by surprise, would be futile." Caspian said in a low voice, the weight of his words heavy on Peter's conscious as the High King remembered the night of the raid on the castle…as well as all of the poor Narnians who were killed.

"Oh, really. That's what it meant?" Peter said sarcastically. "Then I guess we should have stayed here like rats in a cage…seeing as it would be far safer considering _some people_ don't know how to follow simple directions."

Caspian tore his eyes away from the army, now glaring daggers at Peter once more.

Susan let out a long sigh. "Stop it! Both of you!" she said in a voice unnaturally loud for herself. However, the boys paid no heed to her call.

"I wouldn't have to _follow_ directions if I had been leading the Narnians like I had before you came." He seethed at Peter.

"Well the rightful leader _and _High King of Narnia is back. So you can just sit down and deal with it, little Prince." Peter said. He remembered the time long ago when the White Witch had called him 'Little King', and seeing as the words dug deep when said to him, he felt the same would happen to Caspian.

But however something made Caspian feel, whether it be anger, sorrow, embarrassment, or pain, he always drew his sword. And that's what he did.

Well…he was about to, when a hand grabbed onto his, preventing his hand from meeting the hilt of his sword. He stared up at the face who grabbed his hand…Edmund. He stared at the young King with questioning eyes. Edmund had never wronged him until now, he felt.

Edmund, however, looked determined and ignored the anger eyes his brother gave him and the betrayed look Caspian gave him. "Susan's right, you two. Stop it…now is definitely not the time." He said coolly, and nodded in the direction of the army. "We all put that night in the past, as hard as it was. Best that you too do the same, considering now's the time that we _really_ need to stick together." He said harshly.

Susan smiled and walked of to her younger brother, resting her hand upon his shoulder lovingly. He was really becoming a man right before her eyes…

She nodded approvingly at him, and Caspian and Peter's gazes at one another began to soften. Even though they still probably rivaled one another, it looked like they would at least try to get along considering the situation.

Flaunting their army for nearly ten minutes now, the Telmarines figured that they had given their message to the Narnians; that they were declaring war. Lucy continued to watch as the Telmarines began to fall back and retreat back to camp. They could attack any day now, she thought, and time was definitely not on the Narnian's side. She watched on miserably, until someone caught her eye.

However, no one but Lucy seemed to notice the dark haired girl who was now visible among the Telmarines, for she had been riding behind the General Glozelle. His large form hiding her tiny frame from view from the front. Peter and Caspian were still staring at each other, ignoring the army at the moment and trying to focus on the internal problems of the war.

They were, after all, on the same side. They always were…so they might as well start acting like it.

After a few quiet moments, Caspian reached out his hand hesitantly and somewhat unwillingly at Peter. Peter's gaze never left Caspian's, and the Prince was sure that he would refuse and say something derogatory about his ability to follow commands. But much to Caspian's surprise, Peter reached out as well and grasped his hand, shaking it very firmly. They were both surprised that neither tried to strangle the other's hand by squeezing so hard that both their knuckles turned white. No…it was a rather friendly and respectful handshake, and Caspian realized that he liked Peter a lot more when he wasn't trying to act like such a pompous know-it-all.

Peter looked over at Edmund. "Well done Ed…your Just title suits you."

The young King smiled, happy that his other brother finally acknowledged him for something. From helping Peter in fights, in both England and Narnia, to destroying the White Witch only yesterday, Edmund felt that Peter's praise was not just for stopping the quarreling between him and Caspian. He was finally getting the credit he deserved.

Susan smiled and let out a relieved sigh. "Finally…" she said, and everyone laughed. "Now that we're all-"

"Look! It's Jade!" Lucy shrieked, once she was positive that the black haired girl she spotted was none other than Jade.

Caspian immediately dropped Peter's hand, eyes wide as he turned to the direction if Lucy's outstretched hand. She was not hard to spot, for she was still wearing Susan's pale yellow warrior dress…the bright and hopeful color standing out among the dull silver of the Telmarines.

Caspian ran to the edge of the How, stopping only inches away from the edge of the cliff. Had he be an inch closer, he would surely have fallen off the edge. Susan automatically grabbed his upper arm, her motherly instinct taking over in fear that he would run off the cliff if it meant getting closer to Jade.

"Oh, Caspian." Susan said softly, her voice filled with sorrow as she watched him helplessly gaze at the young girl he cared so much for.

Caspian wanted to scream her name, run after her, and take on the whole Telmarine army single-handedly. But screaming her name would be to no avail…she was too far away. Running after her and fighting would be impossible as well. No matter how much he wanted to do, at this point, Jade was out of his reach.

"Oh no…poor Jade." Lucy wept. "I can't imagine what they could've done to her."

"Lucy!" Susan whispered fiercely as she let go of Caspian's arm and used her now free hand to silence her sister.

Lucy immediately snapped out of her gaze and covered her mouth with her hands, only now just realizing the impact her words might have on Caspian. All eyes were on Caspian now, who seemed to be registering what was happening around him but not really indicating that he cared. Lucy's words didn't upset him in the least, for that was what he was thinking for the past two days now.

"Well…" Peter said, trying his best to break the awkward moment, "at least now we know that she's alive. There's still hope…" He said as he gave Caspian a brotherly pat on the shoulder.

Caspian looked over at Peter. Sure, the White Witch had told him yesterday that Jade was still alive and he had felt relieved. However, it was nothing comparing to actually seeing her alive for himself. He couldn't agree with Peter more, and he gave the High King a small smile.

Lucy beamed. It was rare these that Peter was the shining speck of hope among the siblings. He usually tended to be the outcast…the pessimist.

"Peter's right, Caspian. Don't worry, we'll get her back once we defeat those ruddy Telmarines!" the youngest Pevensie said.

Her smile was contagious, and Caspian couldn't help but feel warmth inside himself from the love and care the Pevensies had for Jade and the hope they had that this war would be a victory for Narnian.

"Don't worry, mate." Peter said, singling out Caspian from the group. He gave him a serious stare. "We'll defeat your Uncle…and I'll do anything in my power to rescue Jade along the way. You have my word…I know how much you care about her."

Caspian was speechless. He stared at Peter gratefully, yet a bit awkwardly. He felt like he was being put on the spot…and was is really that obvious that he cared for her so much? He didn't know what to do…it was hard enough even trying to sort out his feelings for Jade. But what he did know was that he would put his life in any form of danger if it meant rescuing Jade, and he couldn't be happier knowing that he now had the support of his new friends…especially Peter.

"Hey, what about us?" Edmund said, noticing that Peter was singling Caspian out and he was not taking much of a liking to being left out. "We care about Jade too." He said, gesturing to his sisters who looked like the wanted to smack him for being so oblivious.

Peter looked over to Edmund with a smile. "I know Ed, it's just…I think Caspian cares just _a little_ bit more about Jade than we do." He said with a chuckle, and Lucy and Susan had a hard time suppressing their laughter as well.

Caspian, on the other hand, wanted to disappear of the face of the Earth. He couldn't take this kind of embarrassment, and he was sure that his checks were turning a light pink from the knowing way Peter said his words.

Edmund, however, still looked baffled. "What do you mean he cares about her more than us?"

"Oh, Edmund." Lucy chided. "Can't you see it?"

"See what?" he retorted.

Lucy grumbled. "Caspian and Jade…how they are when they're together. Don't tell me you don't see it…it's so obvious!" she said raising her voice, losing her patience with her ignorant brother.

"What's obvious?!" he said back.

Caspian was becoming more embarrassed by the second, and took this time to shuffle away from the siblings unnoticed. He didn't like just standing around while everyone talked about him like he wasn't even there…especially when they were talking about matters that consisted of Jade as well. He retreated back to the open fields to practice his sword fighting some more, the same place Jade had been learning how to use a bow and arrow a few days ago.

"Ugh! Are you serious?!" Lucy screeched, finally losing her patience. "I give up." She smacked Edmund on the shoulder before retreating from the balcony to go sit on the broken stone table and gaze at Aslan's mural.

"Hey! What was that for?" Edmund said as he rubbed his shoulder. He then looked to his older sister and older brother. "I don't get it…what did I say?"

Susan rolled her eyes and shoved Edmund as she left the balcony as well. "Come on, Peter. You should go find Caspian and call for everyone to meet inside the How. As for you, Edmund…" she said as she stared at her younger brother disapprovingly, "you can just be quiet."

Peter chuckled at his brother and gave him a nudge, while Edmund still looked baffled.

"Yeah, Ed. You should have your title changed to King Edmund, the Oblivious." Peter said following his sister, leaving his brother alone on the balcony as confused as ever.

"But I still don't get it!"

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**Caspian's POV**

All the Narnians lay huddled inside the warm and comfortable How, forming a circle around their Magnificent King as he explained to them the situation they were in. Even though they all saw the large Telmarine Army earlier, Peter still felt the need to remind them how serious this war was, and how the fate of all Narnia rested upon this coming battle.

Caspian lay seated in the corner, his Professor taking up the spot in which Jade had sat before. It's not that he was unhappy that he had managed to save his Professor…but he would much rather have a certain girl with black hair and lovely green eyes sitting beside him. And as Peter continued to ramble on about supplies and weapons, Caspian's thoughts could not be taken off of Jade…as usual. He didn't know what it was…this feeling…but he couldn't stop thinking about her. And he was sure that he had never been so happy before in his life when he had seen her distant form today. She was alive…and it was that thought alone that would give him the strength he needed to fight in this war.

Because…if anything had happened to her…

Well, there was no need to think about that, he thought, because she was fine. He has seen her for herself.

Caspian was also anxious. Seeing her also made Caspian realize how much he had missed her, even if it was only two days. After all, he had spent the last few weeks right by her side all the time. It was like…she was a new extension to his body, his soul, his heart. An addition to himself that he never knew he needed, until now. They hadn't even known each other for a month, but Caspian felt a special bond with Jade. Before he had met Jade, he wasn't aware that anything in his life was missing. But now that he had finally found her, the one thing he had been searching for, he couldn't imagine going on with life without her.

"_And I don't intend to either."_ He said to himself.

Now that Caspian was sure that Jade was alive, he would most definitely do anything to get her back. Things had just been going great between them, and now that he realized that he was indeed falling in love with Jade in such a short time, he couldn't wait to bring her back to safety. Especially after the magical feeling of his lips on hers.

"_That was amazing…"_ Caspian said, finally recalling the memory of his first kiss and happier than ever that he had shared such a special moment with Jade. That was the best feeling Caspian had ever felt…it really was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was a mixture of elation, pain, confusion…and love.

Jade really was contagious…

Caspian decided that kissing Jade would be the first thing he did once he brought her back to safety.

And he most definitely would bring her back, if not for how he deeply felt about her, then for the promises he made to her. Caspian hadn't forgotten the fact that Jade wasn't even from this world, therefore was to blame for none of this war. He felt guilty for her getting stuck in the middle of it, as well as extremely guilty for allowing her to get captured right before his eyes.

"_I'm sorry to be a burden." Jade said, noticing that Caspian was still thinking to himself. "I didn't mean for this to happen, and I feel horrible dragging you into my problem." Caspian flinched at this comment._

"_Nonsense." He said as he continued to look in your eyes. He seemed determined. "I don't consider you a burden at all. I'm actually…glad you came."_

"_Please…don't cry." Caspian pleaded. He pulled you away from his warm chest and inspected your tear-stained face. With gentle hands, he tucked the strands of hair that were matted to your face behind your ears. "Don't worry, Jade, I'll take care of you…I promise. And I want to help you, I really do. I'll find you a way back home…don't worry, just…don't cry."_

Caspian smiled sadly at the memory…it was the first time he talked to Jade. They both had a heartfelt conversation that day, and Jade had surprisingly opened up to him and told her everything. Of course, she was probably sensitive and desperate for someone to hold on to at the time, but Caspian liked to think that she spilled her emotions out to him willingly because she trusted him.

And how wrong she was. She was no burden, she was the one being burdened. She didn't deserve to be in this situation when she had her own problems to deal with. But she wouldn't need to worry any more, for when she got back Caspian would…

"…_find her a way back home?"_ he thought. _"Shit…I did promise her that…"_

Don't get Caspian wrong, he really did care about Jade and wanted her to be happy. But did she really have to go home so soon? Like he thought before, things had just been going great between them. They had even kissed…

And now she had to leave?

"_Well maybe she wants to stay here in Narnia now…with you." _He tried to console himself.

That could be a possibility. I mean…how could she not fall in love with Narnia. For Caspian it had been love at first sight (just like with Jade) and if they defeated the Telmarines, which they would, then Caspian would get to be King over all Narnia…it would be like a dream come true.

Of course, Jade would complete that dream.

But the question was- what would Jade want after the war was over? Would she choose to stay here with Caspian…or would she have to go home?

Because if it was the latter, then Caspian would have to search for the thing he desired the least- Jade's home so that she could leave.

"_But why would she want to leave? She said herself that she's happier here…and I make her happy don't I? She feels the same way I do…right? I mean, she did kiss me back. So that's got to mean that- uh-oh, Peter's looking at me. I better nod my head so it looks like I was paying attention to him."_

"Do you agree with me, Caspian?" Peter asked.

Caspian looked like a deer in headlights, although he tried his best to hide it and act like he heard every single word Peter said.

"_Crap…"_ he thought, looking at all the other Telmarines, trying to see if he could pick up on anything. However, all he took notice of was the determined look Lucy now wore and the worried looked the dwarf Trumpkin had on his face.

Caspian had no idea what to say, however, the look Lucy was giving him seemed to say "Say yes or else". Caspian never thought that Lucy would be one to intimidate him, but from what he saw, it looked like he would get it from her later if he did not agree with Peter. So he did.

"Yes." Caspian said meekly, and he noted how Lucy beamed at his comment. Trumpkin, however, looked like he was about to skin the young Prince alive.

"Right then…it's settled." Peter said as he gave Lucy a knowing stare, "I cannot deny it any longer, we need Aslan's help and Lucy's the only one who can find him. And I'm going to send Lucy into the forest to find him." Peter said.

Caspian's eyes widened a bit, but again, he hid it right away. He was amazed, to say the least. Sending little Lucy out in the forest all alone to look for someone who could possibly not even be there seemed a bit over the edge and dangerous. It did sound as if Peter was becoming a bit desperate…

Then a loud slam echoed throughout the how, and everyone's eyes went towards the dwarf. Trumpkin had his fist on the stone table and looked furious.

"That's your big plan, then?! To send a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest alone?!" he raged. The ends of his beard seemed to shake with fury. Caspian then realized that he never got to know Trumpkin very well, and he also noted how he was being very protective of Lucy. They must have formed a very strong bond of friendship when Lucy came. Then again, Caspian thought, it was hard for anyone not to befriend Lucy.

"It's our only chance." Peter bit back at the dwarf, refusing to change his decision.

"And she won't be going alone." Susan added, trying to make Trumpkin feel better. But no such luck, the little dwarf didn't look any more relieved for his dear Queen. He went up to Lucy and pleaded to her.

"Haven't enough of us died?" he asked in a desperate attempt to keep her safe. Lucy looked down at Trumpkin lovingly, happy that he cared so much about her, and catching the hidden message behind his words.

"Nikabrik was my friend too, Trumpkin. But he lost hope. Queen Lucy hasn't…and neither have I." Trufflehunter said, trying to aid the two Queens and settle Trumpkin down.

"Well then I'm going with you." Trumpkin said looking at Lucy.

"No, we need you here." Lucy said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Caspian believed in her…after all, someone had to. It seemed like she was trying to make use of herself, seeing as she was still young and would not be allowed to fight. All she wanted was to contribute to the war; there was nothing wrong with that. Plus, Susan would be with her, and Caspian had faith in the High Queen to take care of her younger sister. However, if Aslan was their only hope to win against the Telmarines, the Narnians would need to hold them off and stall somehow.

"But what are we to do while Lucy is looking for Aslan?" one of the Narnians chimed in.

"That's the problem…we need all the help we can to distract the Telmarines." Peter said.

Edmund sighed defeatedly. "What we need is more time…"

Then, suddenly, and idea came to Caspian. He stood upright in his seat, but then slouched back as he remember the other times that he had voiced his opinions in meetings. Peter had overruled him…and the High King would most likely do it again, even if they were on good terms. He was still King after all…

But his Professor gave him a nudge, and Caspian looked up into his bespectacled eyes. The old man gave him an encouraging stare, and nudged him once more, silently telling him to stand up and tell everyone what he had to say.

So Caspian built up all the courage he could muster and stood up, Peter's eyes dangerously falling on him and giving him a questioning glare. Of course, that was all Caspian's imagination. He did not notice how Peter now looked upon him with respect and interest.

"If I may…" Caspian said meekly, and Peter nodded for him to continue, "Miraz may be a tyrant…and a murder, but as King, he has to live up to the expectations of his people and follow our many traditions. One of those traditions may be of help to us now."

Peter nodded, now very interested in what Caspian had up his sleeve. Plus, he was willing to take any help he could get.

"One on one combat. If one of us challenges Miraz to a one on one duel, he simply cannot refuse. It will go against tradition for the King to prove his strength to his army. It will also help us buy us some time." Caspian said.

There was a murmur among the Narnians, and they seemed to be relishing this new piece of information. And Caspian had a sneaky suspicion that all the hustle and bustle was about who would be the one to duel Miraz…_King_ Miraz, Caspian thought bitterly.

Peter nodded at Caspian, letting him know that his comment was indeed useful. He then looked to his sister, Lucy, and then seemed to be having a telepathic conversation in their heads that only they could hear. Lucy smiled at him, and Peter smiled back, seemingly coming to grips with an internal decision that he had just made. And then he spoke.

"I will challenge him." He said.

Now there was an even louder murmur among the Narnians, and Caspian was equally as surprised at Peter's boldness and willingness to sacrifice himself.

"Peter!" Susan shrieked, her motherly instincts taking over once more. "No, Peter…you mustn't!"

"But I must!" Peter yelled back, not keen on arguing at a time like this. Susan looked at him with sad, pleading eyes…scared as ever for the safety of her dear brother. Peter returned her sad eyes. "It's got to be me, Susan. It's only fair…King verse King. It's something I need to do…" he said determinedly.

"But what about me? I'm-"

"Not now, Ed!" Peter said, immediately cutting Edmund short of his comment without even looking at him. He then looked back at Susan. "Listen, Susan. You take care of Lucy and worry about her. Don't fret over me, I can handle myself. We both need to do what we need to do…"

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**Alright, there you go!**

**Sorry again for being late and I will try to have the next chapter up by this weekend. **

**And I know I say this every time but…**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW**

**They make me ohhhhh so happy!**


	23. Chapter 23: Everything Will Be Alright

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Sorry this came out so late…I'm working 40 hours a day at my new job and when I come home late at night to see if anyone reviewed, it really is a drag to see that no one is anymore. I don't know if it's because everyone is going on vacations, but it would be nice to be getting more and more feedback as I go along. Like I said before, reviews are the biggest motivation for me to write, seeing as when I come home from an eight hour shift the last thing I want to do is write for seemingly no one. So again, not to sound rude, but in my time of stress and work it really makes me feel good about what I'm writing to see that people have the thoughtfulness to review for me.**

**So anyways, that's all I really have to say. Hopefully you all like this chapter…I apologize for these chapters being a bit slow and not exciting, but they are all building up for the action/drama/climax. So don't worry! I know what I'm doing haha**

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**Chapter 23: Everything Will Be Alright**

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**Your POV **

You shook in your seat behind the General as all the Telmarines marched towards the How. You didn't want to go along with them, you didn't think you could handle it. It was like having your freedom and friends dangling right in front of you, so close…yet so fare away. You wanted to cry. Lord Miraz truly was evil.

You hated him for doing this, for bringing you to the place you now called home and to the people you now called family…and there was nothing you could do to free yourself. Why would he bring you? You had no idea. All you could do was look on helplessly as you saw the Pevensies and Caspian run to the edge of the How.

Your family…

"_But, surely they aren't my real family." _You thought to yourself, quite unsure of anything from your real world anymore. _"No…of course not…I had parents…a sister…and a…house?"_

Faces and faces raced through your mind, but they were passing by so quickly that you could not catch a single one of them properly. You knew they existed, you really did…but their faces and names were a blur.

And all you could remember were a pair of blue eyes. Nothing more.

And unlike before in the cell when you had been panicking, you didn't seem to worry as much this time. Surely you would have liked to at least remember their names and you felt horrible for being so forgetful…but whoever they were who you couldn't remember…it didn't seem to matter. If they were so important, why would you forget about them so quickly?

"_Maybe __**they **__didn't matter."_ You thought, trying to comfort yourself that it was a good thing to not think about the lesser important things in life. But still…it would be nice to remember something. You really did wish you would remember something…

But looking back up to the cliffs of the How, you indeed saw Caspian and the rest of your family in the distance, and you could not have been happier that you had come to Narnia. Even though you couldn't remember anything about your previous home, you just knew that this place was so much better.

And even though you were so far away from them, and Caspian's face was barely visible, you were still relieved that you were now laying eyes on him. Everything would be alright…

Just then the horse you were on jerked and you felt yourself turning in the other direction. You were obviously leaving, and you could feel the rumble from the rest of the army as they marched away in the same direction. You kept your eyes on Caspian for only a second later before tearing them away. You didn't wish to stare at him any longer, it was just too heartbreaking. You knew that he, however, was most likely doing the opposite. It was like you knew he was watching you.

You inwardly shivered at the thought. You had never had a boyfriend in your life. Sure…you may have had a few flings here and there, but never anything serious. You had always been so shy…so awkward…so self-conscious. But that all had seemed to disappear the second you came to Narnia. Before, merely the thought of talking to an incredible handsome boy gave you the chills. But now, you were doing it on a daily basis with Caspian. Or, had been doing until you got captured.

Anyways, back to the point, you had never had a boyfriend before. You had never felt that special connection, that special bond. That was, of course, until you met Caspian…and decided to completely fall into him.

"_And kiss him."_ You smiled at the memory. Ah yes…your first kiss was shared with Caspian.

But then, just as you were about to daydream more about Caspian and picture the two of you holding hands, a deafening roar echoed throughout your mind. You flinched. This roar was even louder than the one that you heard when Miraz was trying to extract information from you. And at that time, it was like the roar was warning you to not tell him anything.

So, that must mean that this time it was telling you not to think about Caspian right now.

_However Caspian felt for you, that did not matter right now. What mattered was that you keep your promise to him and all of Narnia. Love would have to wait…there were more important matters at hand right now. However you and Caspian felt for each other, that would be dealt with when this war was over._

You froze.

"_Oh…now I remember."_ You said, recalling the inward promise you made to all of Narnia. _"I guess I should be thinking of more important matters…like what I can do to help or how I can get the hell out of here!" _you thought bitterly.

You looked all around you and let out a sign.

"_Ok, well seeing as I'm surrounded by the whole entire army, I'd say now is not the time to escape."_ You thought, surprising yourself that you were actually being sarcastic at a time like this. _"But then …what am I supposed to do?" _you said, hoping that instead of a roar you would hear the echoes of the answer in your head. But no such luck…it seemed like you would have to do this alone.

The neighing of your horse brought you out of your thoughts. The creature stumbled backwards a bit, causing you to lose your balance for a second while still atop it.

"Wow…easy." Said the General, trying to calm down the animal. "It's only a snake." And sure enough when you looked over the General's shoulder, you saw the massive form of a snake in front of you…its cat-like yellow eyes boring into the horse's. The horse began to neigh even more, seemingly getting more scared by the second.

You gasped as well, not only from the snake, but from the danger that you were now in from being on top of a frightened horse that could possibly throw you off any minute.

The General seemed to be thinking the same thing, seeing as he was doing all he could to stop his horse from panicking and looked like he wanted to skin the snake alive.

"Damn beast…" he mumbled as the snake continued to prevent his horse from moving forward. He then pulled out his crossbow and aimed it towards the snake's head. You watched on, mildly entertained.

But you didn't expect what happened next.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, the series of the next few events passing by like they had never really happened…

As the General took aim at the snake, the footless creature turned his attention from the horse to the General, as if he knew what was doing to happen.

He then turned his head towards you, his yellow eyes looking straight into yours.

And you quite liked the feeling. The second his eyes locked with yours, you felt as if you were floating among the clouds…like you were in the happiest place you could be…where you wanted to be. You felt weightless, like you could fly, and like all the stress from the war had been lifted on your shoulder.

Your thoughts were plagued with nothing…and you felt happy.

You were also nothing. You felt nothing…heard nothing…and saw nothing, save for the pair of haunting yellow eyes that did not seem as frightening anymore. They were comforting…and you were nothing.

It was not as if you did not exist, rather, you were of no substance. You were there…but at the same time you weren't. All around, it was a good feeling. You felt no hatred, jealousy, happiness, or love. You were nothing…therefore you felt nothing. And oddly enough, you seemed to prefer feeling nothing opposed to feeling everything. It was like the break you so surely needed from the world of emotions.

All you felt was content…peaceful…mindless.

If you had eyes, you would have closed them, embracing this new world of feeling that you didn't know existed.

And then, a warm breeze brushed by, warming your emptiness. You liked the breeze…it felt nice. And you were thankful that it graced you with its presence and gave you warmth. Surely, if this breeze asked for anything in return, you would most definitely do so.

And just as that thought crossed your mind, you heard a pleading whisper that traveled with the wind.

"_Please…don't let him kill me"_ the voice pleaded.

The soft voice wanted to make you cry. It reminded you of movies where the one person was about to be shot or something, and he kept on pleaded for the murderer to spare him and not kill his because he had children and a family.

And how could you deny someone begging for their life.

"_Please…don't let him kill me"_ the voice repeated. And the second it finished the statement, you were brought back to yourself.

You felt the air, heard the neighing of the horse, and saw the snake eyeing you like it had been before.

And as if in a trance, eyes still fixated on the snake, you reached out to the General's arm and pulled it upwards so that the arrow he shot went into the air instead of lodging itself into the snake's head. The snake let out a pleasing hiss as the arrow fell to the ground harmlessly. He then lowered his head, his task of escaping being complete, and slithered right through the legs of the horse and into the depths of the forest. However, this did not please the horse, seeing as he sprung up on his hind legs in fright…causing you to fall off the end of the horse. You hit the ground hard, head first, and you remembered nothing after that.

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian paced back in forth inside Aslan's How, right in front of his mural by the stone table. It was almost as if he was waiting for the stone tablet of the mighty lion to come alive and tell him what he should do.

But alas, the only other living thing in the room was Peter, who was furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment. Caspian knew what he was writing, it was something that Edmund was supposed to take when he went over to the Telmarine army; the letter that he would read aloud to propose a one on one duel between Miraz and Peter.

Just thinking about the duel made Caspian regret he had even mentioned it. Sure, Miraz would most likely go along with the offer…but that did not necessarily mean that he had to be clean about it. And his evil Uncle had a way of always playing dirty in certain affairs, and that was what worried Caspian.

He feared that he had just led Peter to his death.

And seeing that the two boys had been recently getting along (and not trying to slit each other's thoughts in their sleep) Caspian felt guilty for putting Peter in such danger.

Too anxious for the upcoming battle, Caspian found it hard to form words for what he wanted to say. He didn't want to seem too concerned about Peter, because then the High King would probably get insulted that Caspian did not think he could handle the one on one battle. But at the same time, he didn't want to seem like he didn't care at all, because he and Peter had finally come to speaking terms with one another…and he didn't think Susan and Lucy and the rest of the Narnians would be too pleased to hear that their two leaders got into another fight.

So instead of pacing mindlessly while he listened to the strokes of Peter's feather, Caspian decided to speak up.

"You know," he began, causing Peter to look up, "you have sisters and a brother to take care of. I do not think it would be wise to put yourself in such danger." Caspian said, feeling confident with the way he worded him statement. However, just as he expected, Peter took it the wrong way.

"You don't think I can handle him?" he asked, a hint of anger apparent in his low voice.

"No, that's not what I meant." Caspian said slowly, a bit frustrated at how Peter always jumped to conclusions. "But like I said before, Miraz is evil and cunning. Even if he does agree to the one on one combat with you, I doubt he will not have a second motive up his sleeve."

"You don't think I have dealt with such matters in the past?" Peter said equally as slowly, trying to keep his voice calm.

Caspian stopped and thought for a moment, remembering the stories his Professor had told him back at the Castle. Technically, Peter was nearly double his age. According to the stories, Peter had been in his 30's around the time that he disappeared from Narnia, only to return 1300 years later. That age and wisdom didn't even compare to Caspian's age, being a young man of 21.

So that meant that Peter was about 30-35 years old in human years, and 1300 years old in Narnian years. That was a long time to be king…

Caspian couldn't even imagine how many wars he must have fought in, peace treaties he must have signed, and difficult decisions he must have made. He had been a king for over 15 years, and Caspian was still a Prince.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Caspian said, trying to respect Peter and his experience as a King. "I just think it would be best if I fought Miraz instead. He is my Uncle…and he killed my father...it is revenge I desire." Caspian said hungrily, the need for revenge seeping throughout his body and pulsing through his veins.

And Peter had the nerve to chuckle.

Caspian shot his head to the High King, thoroughly offended that he picked now of all times to have a sense of humor.

"Revenge…" Peter mumbled, "It is an evil desire…and a foolish thing to fight for." Caspian took in Peter's words thoughtfully, but still clenched his fists. He could get over the fact that Peter still talked to him as if he was a child.

"Excuse me?" Caspian asked a bit rudely. Peter stood up, abandoning his note.

"You think that just because you want revenge so much that that will give you the strength to fight your Uncle? Well it won't!" Peter said raising his voice, and not giving Caspian a chance to respond. "I've seen many battles in my day, and revenge is never the answer. Let go of revenge while you can, Caspian…you won't like the person you become when it's all you think about." He then gave Caspian a knowing look. "There are more important things, you know…" Peter said, hinting about the green eyed girl that had been haunting Caspian's thoughts more and more lately as his revenge began to build up.

"I know there are more important things!" Caspian said, not wanting to be lectured by the know-it-all King. "But that's not the point…it should be me fighting my Uncle, not you. He is my Uncle…therefore he is my responsibility."

"Uncle or not, it doesn't matter. I am going to fight him and you can't stop me." Peter said with finality, but according to Caspian, this argument was far from over. However, both boys knew not to take this argument to the heights like they had in the past. There would be arguing, but no drawing of swords.

Caspian growled. He knew in the back of his mind that they could not switch places now even if Peter wanted to. What would the Narnians think of their King? A coward?

"Why are you doing this…this isn't your battle to fight…it's mine. You should have never have made yourself do this." Caspian said. "You don't understand…" He shifted his gaze out toward the mural of a castle. It was of Cair Paravel, and even though it was not the Castle that was his home, he was still flushed with memories of the years he spent with his father.

"No, you're the one that doesn't understand." Peter said, giving Caspian a hard and defiant look even though the Prince was not looking back at him, but rather seemed to be in his own world. "Listen…I know that you wan your revenge against your Uncle and everything…but this is my battle as much as it is yours. This is something I have to do…for Narnia. It's the least I can do…after I left."

Caspian didn't know what to say. Did Peter really want to prove himself that badly? The Narnians had greeting him and his siblings like old family when they arrived, never had they mentioned how angry they were that they left them. No…the Narnians held no such grudge, so why was Peter so intent on doing so.

It was also possible that Peter might feel guilty about the night of the raid on the castle and want to make up for his decision to not call off the raid right away. Caspian sure as hell felt responsible, not only for the loss of the Narnians but for the capturing of Jade. Peter shared a connection with Narnia that Caspian couldn't in a million years decipher, and seeing his fellow Narnians fall before him must have broken even his hard-shelled heart. After all, Caspian was too busy focusing on Jade's falling body to see that the High King had actually shed a few tears as he watched his comrades helplessly try to escape from the gate, only to be mercilessly slaughtered.

"Caspian…when this battle is over, and we are victorious" he said confidently, "you are going to be the rightful King…not me."

"What do you mean? You will still be King, won't you?" Caspian asked.

Peter looked up at him. "I don't know what's going to happen to me during the battle, or what will happen to me if I survive. But what I do know is that after all of this is over, you are going to be King of Narnia…you are the rightful heir." Caspian now looked a bit concerned. He had figured he would be King, seeing as he really was the rightful heir, but it always scared him a bit to be reminded that he would eventually have to rule over this massive land all by himself. "Besides…I'm the High King of Old, not of Now."

And with that last statement, Peter walked back over to his parchment and quill, finishing the letter for Edmund. Even though the Just King could probably handle the letter if he put his mind to it, Peter was always better with political affairs. Plus, it was apparent that Edmund had no problem with returning to his old 16 year old self when they when back through the wardrobe a year ago.

"I don't know if I'm ready to be King…" Caspian said truthfully, mildly surprised that he was saying this to Peter of all people. Spilling his thoughts and worries was something he only trusted with his Professor and Jade. Were he and Peter actually becoming friends…?

Peter looked up him thoughtfully, rolling up the finished piece of parchment that Edmund would be taking to Miraz immediately.

"I didn't think I could either at the time…" he said, remembered the day he had killed the lead wolf Faramir with his sword and had been knighted by Aslan. "But don't worry, everything will fall into place."

_Everything will be alright..._

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**Alright everyone, I've decided that I'm going to be much more responsible and not procrastinate with this story anymore. I'm going to keep myself on a schedule and try to post every three days. Everyday I'm going to write at least 3 pages, that way I can have one chapter up at least every three days. Because I don't know about you but I miss the good old days when I was able to post every day :(**

**But yes, I go back to college in late August so this story must be finished before I go back to school! And that means I need to post more often! So yeah…have faith in me, I'm going to do my best!**

**And like I said above, reviews are so very much appreciated…they really make my day. So please please please review! **


	24. Chapter 24: A Visit From The King

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Alright so ha! I was on time! Well…maybe a day late…but I had to go to the beach with my family for the day on Saturday. But it's still faster than I was posting before, so yay for me and you guys who have been reviewing for me! You guys are awesome.**

**Anyways…so this is where my knowledge of the exact word for word conversations that go on in the movie gets a bit hazy. I'm going to do the best I can to remember the right quotes and all, but don't kill me if they're not perfect!**

**But like I said before, thank you all for reviewing and hopefully you will continue to do so.**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 24: A Visit From The King**

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**Your POV **

You woke up with the worst headache in the world. As you opened your eyes, everything was all spinning and dizzy, and you had to wait a few moment for all the moving objects to come to a halt and fall back into place. It was like the dizziness you got after you spun around in circles too many times.

You moaned from the pain in your head, the fall causing you to apparently lose conciousness for…who knows how long. You were even having trouble remembering the events that led up to the fall. All you could remember was that the horse you were riding on got scared somehow and you fell off the back. And that's where your memory cut you off. But you didn't bother straining your brain cells to do more work then they had to right now…for they were still painfully aching. You made a move to rub the sore spot on your head when you realized…you couldn't. You wanted to move your arm, but it wouldn't budge.

Looking down, you now realized that you were tied very tightly to some tree in the middle of the Telmarine camp. Your mind was so dumb and hazy from waking up in such a daze you didn't even realize the position you were in. One you seemed to regain all of your conciousness, the camp began to bustle with noise and soldiers that you only noticed now. You looked all around you, and all you saw were trees and Telmarine soldiers with their weapons. That's all there was to it- trees, men, and weapons.

"_How lovely…"_ you thought.

You looked back as forth as much as your position would allow you, but you caught no sight of any royal tent or anything that Miraz would be in. Giving up your quest, you decided that it was probably still somewhere behind you…but that did not mean a spark of excitement ran through you at the thought that he may be away, giving you time to escape…

…Or not. You huffed in exasperation, your first motive being to try to free yourself from the tight (a bit too tight) ropes that held you in your place. And as usual, you pulled and struggled in the ropes to no avail and sunk back down to your relaxing sitting position against the tree. You made a move to rest your throbbing head on the tree, only to pull it right back from the bark rubbing against your bump the wrong was. This sent another shot of pain through your head…and your subconscious mind cried something along the lines of "I want my mommy."

You dismissed the thought immediately, having no clue why you would possibly say that. After all, as long as you were aware, you had no mother here in Narnia.

Plus, the voice sounded too pleading and needy…and right now, you were trying to be brave and think of a way to escape. But you couldn't help but feel…hopeless.

And then, as if God was answering your prayers, you heard the voice of the person who you wanted to run up and hug, thump over the head, and apologize to all at the same time.

"His Majesty…High King Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion,… hereby challenge you for all the stakes in a duel of single combat to the death in front of Aslan's How tomorrow. ….to prevent the effusion of blood, and for the avoiding all other inconveniences likely to grow from the wars now levied in our realm of Narnia. The duel will decide the fate of the war…the victorious will take all and claim victory over all of Narnia…and the one who fails to succeed will accept defeat. And…as a plea for humanity…His Majesty has also requested that you spare the life of any and all prisoners…and he would be forever grateful if you would…" you heard Edmunds voice from behind you. He was probably talking to Miraz…who was behind you as well. The voice didn't seem too distant, and a sliver of happiness ran through you at the thought that your dear brother Edmund was probably mere feet away from you. You were about to wonder if Edmund had seen you when he came into the camp…but then you remembered the thoughtful and caring words from his speech.

You finally had a reason to smile, reminding yourself to give Peter a great big bear hug when and if you ever were reunited with them. That is…if it really was him who thought up that line instead of Caspian begging him to mention it in his request.

A flicker of respect for Peter sprung inside you. Seeing as you had been with the Telmarines all this time, you most definitely had missed one or two important and strategic meetings that Peter would call. Therefore, you had no idea if Peter had unselfishly sacrificed himself to fight Miraz or if he was voted unwillingly by the Narnians.

However…something deep inside you told you that Peter was one hundred percent willing to fight Miraz for his people…and that's what made you feel relieved. Relieved to know that Peter was finally seeing the light, and not acting like the grumpy, pompous King he had been when you first met him.

You were also a bit relieved to hear that this war may be over with merely a single duel. Even though you loathed Miraz and all his men and wished for nothing but their immediate deaths…you couldn't help the fact that you hated wars and wanted as many lives to be sparred. You were that kind of kind and caring person…and even though they were enemies, the less dead the better.

But what made your hopes and dreams sink was to hear Miraz chuckle. Of course…leave it to him to refuse the most logical, resourceful, and simple way to settle a dispute. Of course…why on earth would such an idiot as himself accept this kind of settlement.

"Tell me, Prince Edmund-"

"King." Edmund interrupted him. You froze, remembering the day you came to Narnia and sat in the middle of the meeting room under Miraz's gaze. And from what you remembered…he hated being interrupted. But instead, at the moment, it seemed as if he was too confused to be angry.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked dumbly, and you tried not to laugh.

"It's _King_ Edmund, actually. Just King, though. Peter's the High King." He said slowly, but Miraz didn't make a sound, obviously still dumbfounded. This caused Edmund to let out a chuckle. "It's all really confusing." You could tell he was on the verge of laughing.

And that's what you loved about Edmund. Even under the most tense and stressful situations, he found the opportunity to laugh. He was so cute and sweet…and a pain in the arse sometimes. But you had to admit, he did handle the whole age change thing a lot better than any of the other siblings. It seemed like he had immediately just fallen back into place, you would never have imagined that he had been about 25 or 30 before. And maybe that was because somewhere deep inside him…he always would have the heart of a young boy.

And that's what you loved about Edmund.

"Very well…" Miraz said, still not entirely convinced, "but as I was saying…tell me, King Edmund, why I should agree to such a challenge when I could destroy all of Narnia with one fatal strike?"

You sighed. It was true…the Narnian army was nothing compared to Terlmarines'. You figured that this proposal was a way for the Narnians to win the war without actually having to win the war…because no matter how much you believed in Caspian and the Pevensies, you knew that they couldn't beat the odds.

"With all do respect, sir, haven't you underestimated our numbers before? Wouldn't it be foolish to do so again?"

Bluff.

"My army will crush anything in its path." Miraz seethed. You cringed, not liking the way this conversation was going. Oh well…you had to commend Edmund for the effort…

You still kept your ears strained, though. You wanted to make sure you didn't miss a second of the rest of the settlement.

"So what's your decision then?" Edmund asked.

There was a chuckle from the evil King.

"Most of course, His Majesty must decline." Lord Glozelle said.

"_The dirty coward…" _you thought. Not only would Miraz not agree to fight Peter, but he also didn't even have the dignity to refuse the challenge himself.

"Decline?! Why would I decline?" Miraz yelled angrily. Your ears perked up at this.

"_So…maybe the little fucker has got some backbone in him, after all."_ You thought to yourself, realizing that Edmund could probably use Miraz's huge ego to his advantage. Maybe there was still hope after all.

"His majesty is not declining." Lord Sopespian corrected. During your time with the Telmarine army, you had learned to refer to the man with his name instead of calling him the guy with the curly mustache. "He is more or so…bravely refusing."

There was a growl from Miraz, and you were sure that he didn't like the wording of that statement either.

"So…you're bravely refusing to fight a swordsman half your age?" Edmund asked playfully. You couldn't believe how calm and collected he was in such a situation like this. Surely Miraz and the other Lords didn't share his amusement…you would think he was dancing circles around the Telmarines.

"His Majesty must…after all, he cannot risk such things." said Lord Sopespian.

And that must have been all Miraz could take. You heard a scuffling sound of a chair and the banging of wood. You figured Miraz had leapt out of his chair in fury, slamming his fists on the table. You stifled a giggle, glad that Edmund was able to play mind games with him. However, you were a bit confused with General Glozelle and Lord Sopespian. It almost seemed like they were trying to egg on Miraz as well. It was quite strange…

"I am not refusing _anything_!" Miraz seethed. If you could see his face right now, his eyes would probably be narrowed down to those dangerous slits…his nose flaring…lips pursed with fury. "Are you questioning my honor?!"

"No one is doing such a thing, Sire," says Sopesian. "We are merely suggesting that you have every right to decline."

It was a hard task to do seeing as you could only hear the conversation, but you could have sworn you had caught the hidden sarcasm in Lord Sopespian's voice.

"_Does this mean that they _want_ him to fight?" _you thought strangely to yourself. _"If that's so…then I doubt that they want him to win. Are they secretly plotting against him…?"_

Maybe Lord Sopesian and General Glozelle didn't really want to declare war against Narnian. Maybe they were trying to get Miraz out of the way so that they could end this whole thing…counting on Peter to defeat him. Or maybe somehow…"assuring" that Peter won.

All in all, it would be a very dirty to trick to play on someone…especially the King! You couldn't imagine the Narnians plotting against Peter, Edmund, Susan, or Lucy. However, even though it was truly and evil plan, you couldn't help but feel like it was the right thing to do. After all…it would mean no war for Narnia.

"But His Majesty would never decline." said General Glozelle. "As newly crowned King…His Majesty has been waiting for such an opportunity to show his people how truly great of a King he is."

If you could see Lord Sopespian right now…he probably would have the most devious smile lingering on his features. As for Miraz, he'd still be pissed as hell. And Edmund would probably have that look on his face that he gets when he tries really really hard to conceal his excitement. It kind of looks like a cross between the facial expressions you would get during constipation and waking up on Christmas morning. It truly is a sight to see…

There was a long pause, so you figured that Miraz was just letting everything sink in. He would have to be an idiot not to see right through his Lords' plans. But then again…he was Miraz…no one had any idea what was going on inside that head of his save for "kill them". That was probably his life motto.

Anyways, you heard Miraz sit back down, probably so overwhelmed with what just happened before his eyes. And then he spoke.

"I won't decline…you hear?" he said in a loud, angry voice. Edmund was probably jumping with joy on the inside. "You tell this High King Peter that I _will_ fight him…and I _will_ win." He finished, an unnatural hiss accompanying his voice. It made him sound all the eviler.

"Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you for your time…the pleasure was all mine." said Edmund, sounding a bit too sarcastic. If he wasn't carefully, he was likely to be shot on spot.

"_Alright kid, you won already! Now stop milking it…"_

You heard Miraz growl a bit, obviously not liking the tone of the young King's voice.

"Oh, and if his Great Majesty is willing, it would be ever most grateful if he would let me visit the prisoner that I saw tied to that tree when I came in. If His Majesty would let me do so, then I would be forever grateful, and he would be the most Peaceful, Forgiving, Caring-"

"Alright, boy! Enough! Just go see her and leave!" Miraz barked, causing you to snort with laughter. "And you have 15 minutes to get out of my sight!"

"Thank you, You Majesty." Edmund said as he scrolled up his parchment.

You smiled to yourself. You were going to see Edmund! You would have been bouncing off the walls with excitement if it weren't for these tight, skin breaking, blood circulation cutting ropes. You squirmed in them a bit…hoping that someone would loosen them…but then realizing that it was biologically impossible for anyone in the Telmarine army to have a heart.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands snaking their way around the left side of the tree and covering your eyes, blinding you. You smiled.

"Guess who?" said a familiar voice, and you nearly squealed with excitement. That was your Edmund…always joking around and acting like nothing was wrong. Oh, Edmund…he had become the brother you never had. You were so happy that he was here. True…you did have inkling to see Caspian, but ever since that roar sounded through your head you were too scared to even think about the two of you and your future. Also, he would most likely still be mad that you betrayed his orders and went to fight during the night raid on the castle…all leading up to your downfall and capture. And you would only have a short time to see him…making the departure ever the more painful.

So all in all, if you had to have picked just one person to come visit you for a short time, it would be Edmund. He would make you feel better.

"Edmund!" you nearly screamed, shaking your head so that he would remove his hands and give you a better look at his face.

And when he did remove his hands…there he was. Edmund Pevensie in the flesh. Light blue eyes…soft and short black hair…liberal freckles around his cheekcs…and that cute button nose…and of course, that dazzling smile of his that you knew would cause him to have girl chasing him and fighting over him in the near future. Oh, how you missed this boy.

"Hey, Jade. What's up?" he asked, as if you weren't tied up to a tree in the middle of the Telmarine army, but were playing on the shores of the Narnian beaches.

"Edmund!" you repeated. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's great to see you too…I suppose you woke up during my extremely cunning and well played out conversation with Miraz." He joked.

"Oh yes…very cunning." You said back sarcastically.

"Haha…I was indeed…but do you think I should complement him on his gratefulness some more before I leave…I don't think he got the message." He continued to joke. You loved joking around with Edmund. And considering the situation and how you had been contemplating suicide nearly ever second of the days you were here…this was exactly what you needed.

"Haha…that's the idea, Ed. Poke the bear with a stick." You said sarcastically back, causing the both of you to break out in laughter about the stupid banter you just had. But after a few moments you both calmed down, and you became a bit more serious. But not too serious.

"So…how are you? How is everyone?" you asked, hoping that everyone was still alive and well.

"Everyone's alright and safe…Peter's doing better…the girls are fretting over everything, as usual," he said, causing you to giggle a bit. He then looked at you deep in the eyes. "As for Caspian…well…he's a right mess without you, Jade. Though I only found out yesterday…" he said looking up in deep thought. You had no idea what he was talking about, but you were sure that if was funny and had something to do with Edmund being stupid and oblivious…as always.

"Well I'm glad everyone's safe…" you said trailing off, trying not to think about Caspian…but it was so hard…

Edmund shot his eyes back at you, not liking the sad and depressed way you were talking.

"Everyone misses you, Jade." He said reassuringly. But you already knew that. "We're doing all we can to get you back and you shouldn't be upset because we will-"

"It's alright, Edmund. I know." You interrupted. "It's alright…really. And I know, I miss you all too. But…you shouldn't make me your first priority." You said, instantly wishing you could take those words back. But not because you didn't mean them, but because you knew Edmund would fret over what you would say…thus abandoning the fun conversation you previously were having.

"What? Jade…what do you mean? We all care about you so much! Why are you trying to push us away?" He said pleadingly.

This was all too much. Edmund was breaking your heart with his words. They cut deeper than any blade.

"I'm not trying to push you away!" you said shaking your head, trying not to give him the wrong idea. "You just needn't worry about me right now. You all need to get ready for the duel and the war after. I doubt that even if Peter wins they will surrender without a fight…"

"Oh, we know." Edmund said reassuringly. "We have a plan in case that…or more so, when that happens. We've got it all figured out." He said proudly, causing you to swell with hope. Everything would be alright…

"Ok, good." You said.

"Yeah…oh and, by the way…" Edmund said looking past you with a worried expression on his face, "…I think it's about time I leave. The guards look a bit restless. You see…they haven't killed, tortured, or injured anyone in the past ten seconds… so I better get out of here before they choose me as their next victim." He said, and you laughed a bit at his comment. However, you were very sad that he had to leave already…he had just got here.

"Well…alright then. Be safe." You said sadly.

He kneeled down in front of you and gave the best hug he could to someone who was tied to a tree. You motioned him a bit closer so you could plant a kiss on his cheek, and he smiled bashfully at you. Oh yes…the girls would be going wild for that smile once he was Peter's age.

"You know me…always thinking smart." He said pointing to his head. You giggle, choosing not to recall that time during the night raid when his slid down the roof and knocked out the one guard…only causing half the army to start shooting at him and you having to save his arse. Oh yes…that was thinking smart.

"Ok, well…goodbye then. Tell everyone I miss them very much and…tell Caspian that I…tell him not to worry and that…I can't wait to see him again." You said, causing Edmund to smile at your positive attitude.

"Very well then, I shall." He said standing back up. "Till we meet again." He nodded to you, and you nodded back.

You would see him and everyone again…you could count on it.

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Peter was sitting against the stone table, deep in thought. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he stared at the mural of Aslan. If Aslan was here…surely he would scold the young boy for being such a fool. He had made so many wrong decisions in such a short amount of time…he was sure that he had broke a record of some sort. Either way…he felt ashamed.

Just then, the soft pitter patter of footsteps echoed in the hall, and Peter turned around to see his younger sister Lucy making her was towards him. When she reached him he lifted his right arm, motioning for her to sit next to his. She did so, staring up at Aslan's face as well.

"I've failed him, Lu," Peter said, holding his head in his hands. "I'm not sure I even deserve to be High King anymore. If I had seen him like you, I wonder if I could've done better and made the decision I should have. I wish I could have seen him to be assured that it will all work out in the end…why didn't I see him?" he asked more to himself, but Lucy answered him anyways.

"Maybe…you didn't want to." She said sadly, rubbing his arm.

Peter chuckled sadly, as if he knew that would be the answer. "Great…so he knew from the start that I was undeserving…"

Lucy wanted to say words that were comforting and make Peter feel better, but she was wiser than that. Peter was always stubborn and headstrong…he would never listen to you if you said things like "it's alright" or "don't worry". No…you had to be more personal with Peter.

"You may have not been able to see him…" Lucy replied softly, "…but if you continue to believe in him, I know that he will come and help us. Sometimes just believing is all it takes…and I believe in you." With that, she smiled slightly at him and to her surprise, he smiled back.

"Thank you, Lu. And I believe in you too." He said as he hugged her with his one arm. "I know that you can bring Aslan back…I just know it. Everything will be alright…"

And that's how they stayed like for hours, just holding each other as they awaited the arrival of there brothers.

And after a few hours, they did indeed here a bustling as someone seemed to be running into the How. They both stood up and turned around; watching as Edmund breathlessly ran into the Stone Table room, his eyes on Peter.

He stopped in the threshold, putting his hands on his knees and catching his breath for only a second before standing up straight again and looking Peter dead in the eye…he looked more serious than Peter and Lucy had ever seen him before.

"He accepts…"

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**Alright! There you go! On time as promised. While writing this…it really felt like my inspiration was back! It feels awesome!**

**Anyways, I don't have work tomorrow so next chapter may be up sooner than three days. But nonetheless, it will be up no later than Friday.**

**Well I gotta go get ready for work now…so I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and I really really pray that you all…**

**REVIEW!**


	25. Chapter 25: The Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, I know this may be completely off topic, but I just saw the Dark Knight this morning at 1 am and it was amazing! I advise you all go out and see it. Heath Ledger was so funny as the Joker :( But don't worry I'm not gonna spoil the movie for any of you.**

**But anyways, I'm keeping to the schedule as promised. And I know I've said this before, but I'm sorry if the story seems to be going slow. I know it is…these chapters are building up to the climax…and the after events after the climax. I assure you, this story will start getting much better in the next few chapters...I've got it all planned out. Just have faith in me!**

**And I haven't gotten my schedule for work this week yet, so I don't know which days I have off. So I don't know if the next chapter may come out early, but I do know that it will be out on Tuesday at the latest.**

**Oh, and one more thing. Sorry if the story seems a bit weird with both of Jade's and Caspian's POV's. It's kind of hard to write about both of them while they're in different places and all and getting the timing right is a challenge. I'm doing my best to not make it as confusing, but if you have any questions or words of advice just let me know! I'm open to everything.**

**And since I have nothing left to ramble about, I guess its time to say "Now on with the story…"**

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**Chapter 25: The Calm Before the Storm**

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**Your POV (Dream)**

_You were laying on a bed somewhere, in some room that now seemed so foreign to you. But you didn't mind…the bed was rather comfortable. The open windows brought in a cool breeze, a shield of netting fighting off all the nasty bugs that were trying to get in. You realized that you quite enjoyed this feeling of being able to feel the breeze of the night air while you lay on your bed. You could do no such thing in Narnia. No…even back at the castle while you were staying under Caspian's care, you would have had to walk all the way out to the balcony to get this refreshing night gust._

_As you lay on your back, you looked up to the ceiling to see posters and pictures of boys and girls. Again, maybe if you were from this world of cute boys and girls hanging all over the walls and windows that could slide open, you might know what was going on. _

"Where the hell am I?"_ you asked to no one. _

_You racked your brains to try and remember this place that you were in, this small room that seemed so familiar yet distant at the same time. Giving up your hopeless attempts to remember where you were, you closed your eyes, still relishing in the nice breeze that the open window gave you._

_Everything was in peaceful silence until a shrill laugh echoed from downstairs. You jumped, a bit startled by the outbreak._

_And then your body moved on impulse. It was like you were being controlled by somebody else, like you were a guest in this mysterious host body and they were dragging you through some sort of other reality. _

_As you approached the door that led to the exit of this strange room, you saw something that completely shocked you. Hanging from the doorframe was a long, full length mirror, and the person looking back at you was what scared you the most._

_It was you…only much younger._

_It wasn't as if anything had drastically changed. You only looked about five or six years younger. Then again…how were you to know what was happening? Your hair was at the same length it has always been- long and down past your shoulder. It was still sleek and black, with your bangs nearly covering your brilliant green eyes. Your body, on the other hand, was slightly different. You guessed by now that you were about thirteen, seeing as your twig-like body that you were looking at in the mirror still had not developed their curves. However, there was still nothing wrong with the way you were._

_You panicking had only increased now that you had realized what exactly it was you were observing. It was your younger self…_

_It was your younger self?!_

"But…how did this happen?"_ you thought to yourself, not even considering the fact that this all may be an illusion or dream. _"What happened to me?!"

_And there it was again, that shrill laughter that made you jump for a second time. However, this time the voice sounded as if it were coming from down the hall. _

_Your eyes snapped in the direction of the doorknob mere inches from your form, this being within you still controlling the way you moved (but not the way you thought.) Your hand reached out to said doorknob, grasping and turning the golden sphere in your tiny, thirteen-year old hands. _

_Your petite, purple-polished toenail toes tip-toed down the hall, no matter how much you fought the figure to stay on her comfortable spot on the bed. This bad premonition lingered in your subconscious, and someone was telling you not to take another step forward. But alas, your host was stubborn, and did not heed to your pleas to stay on the bed where you could feel the wind brushing against your face._

_You listened to the soft padding of your feet against the hard-wood floor of the hallway, that is, until another laugh rang through the hallway. It wasn't as shrill and loud as the first you, and your eardrums thanked the heavens for that. But now that the voice was calmer and lower, you couldn't help but feel as if it was oddly familiar to someone you once knew…_

"_I know! I only met him a few months ago but it was like love at first sight!" the happy and familiar voice said. _

_It was the voice of an older woman, and the sound of her commotion was coming from the room at the end of the hall. There were only three other doors and a stairwell in the hallway, and one of the doors had the words "Do Not Disturb" written very messily and hurriedly on them. Your curiosity begged you to open the door and see what force was not supposed to be disturbed, but your younger self kept moving on to the double doors at the end of that hallway; the only door where light shone through the crack at the bottom._

"_Marriage? Are you kidding, Claire?! It's only been a year since Dan passed away…" you felt a jolt of surprise inside you. You had this odd sensation and feeling that your younger self's emotions were mingling with yours…it was a quite strange and unpleasant feeling. _

_But you couldn't do anything but listen to the conversation this person was having with someone else…who you couldn't hear for some reason. That was rather strange…_

_You were now pressed up against the door, in perfect hearing range to catch ever single word this lady spilled._

"_I know, I know. But it's just too soon. I don't want this relationship to end up like a train wreck. Or should I say car wreck…cause we all know how that one ended…"_

_And there is was again. A tingling sensation of emotion from your younger self ran through your body unpleasantly. However, this time it was a mixture of emotions; sadness…regret…love…_

"What could you have been so sad about…"_ you desperately thought, _"…and where am I again?!"

"_Yeah I know…selfish bastard…I mean now I've got this whole mess to clean up myself. I wish he had stayed alive a bit longer so he could have taken care of the kids after the divorce…that would make things a lot easier for me and Tyler…"_

_Now you felt anger. Hot, raging anger. You also felt tears begin to well up in your eyes. Feelings of self-consciousness, loneliness, and uselessness drifted through you. It was kind of like the feeling you got when you were the last one to be picked in gym class. You were unwanted…unneeded…in the way…_

"_No, no. It's not that…I love them. I just…wish I could love them at a distance…you know?"_

_Now, feelings of rage built up within you in addition to your younger self. No matter that you had no idea what the hell was going on, what that lady said was complete bullshit. You were still your 18 year old self at heart, even if you were trapped as five years younger, and you knew that this lady obviously didn't give a damn about her children or anyone but herself. Who was she to call someone else selfish? And who the hell was she even talking to?_

"_I mean, the baby's horrible. She keeps me up all fucking night some days. I just can't take it anymore. Thank God for Tyler, though. He's the only one that keeps me sane these says."_

"Baby?"

_Your thirteen year old figure turned to the direction of the door with the _"Do Not Disturb"_ note on it, and then immediately turned back around and pressed her ears back to the double doors._

"_Yeah…he has been a really big help. Him and his three sons…they're such angels! I can't wait to see how things turn out! …I know I said I wasn't thinking about marriage, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited for things to get more serious with us!"_

_This time around, after the woman stopped speaking, your figure pressed her ear against the door extra hard. You would have objected, but maybe this time you would hear who she was talking to. But all you heard was a silent, squeaky voice that sounded like the buzzing of a bee. What was going on in there?_

"_Yes, of course. I know what I'm doing, Claire. Besides, I don't have to worry about that anymore. Once Alex gets a bit older and Jade is about to leave for college…that'll be the right time to do anything…that is, if we're still together. I already told you…I'm not going to rush into things this time…"_

_And you couldn't explain what happened next._

_It was like there was a minor explosion inside of yourself. You felt like you had been pushed over the edge…like you had had enough…like you were ready to break something valuable and expensive…_

_Like you wanted to break down these double doors and yell and scream at the woman behind them. And that's exactly what your younger self did…_

_But at the instant your younger self wrenched opened the door to the room, you felt as if you were opening the door to another world…the real world…_

_The world where you were still under the heavy surveillance of the Telmarine Army…the world where you were a prisoner separated from your family of Narnian soldiers, friends, and Caspian…_

_Completely unaware that the dream you just had was of the very first fight you had with your mother…_

_Dream Over_

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**Your POV**

You woke up with a start in the middle of the night. Your breathing was heavy and ragged, and you wish your hands were free so that you could wipe away the few, but annoying, strands of hair that were tickling your face.

You tried calming yourself down from the dream…or nightmare…that you must have just had, but you had no idea what happened. Your memory of the dream was whipped clean, and you did not know how to console yourself seeing as you couldn't even remember what happened. The only remnant of the dream was this boiling angry desire to rip the forest to shreds.

You put all your weight back against the tree, shifting uncomfortably against the ragged bark as you did so. You grumbled into the night. This was no way to sleep…or live for that matter. How long would you be stuck in these binds…and what could you possibly do to free yourself?

You reassured yourself by remembering that tomorrow was the day of the duel with Miraz and Peter…the day which held the fate of Narnia.

And even though you doubted you would have to join in on the sword fighting, you still couldn't help but feel nervous for some reason. Peter would be fighting Miraz to the death…

And also, what would happen if things didn't go according to plan? What if a battle erupted or the Telmarines were planning a secret sneak attack? That would surely mean the end for Narnia and all your beloved friends in it. So what would happen then?

You really wished you had something…or someone to comfort you. You felt especially alone, and you desperately wished that Caspian was here to play with your hair until you fell asleep and tell you that this war would be over soon.

But that would never happen.

But…if Caspian were here, he would also tend to your still throbbing head. No matter how you rested it against the bark, it was still in excruciating pain. You really needed a doctor of some sort.

If you could only find that damn horse that threw you off the saddle, you would be sure that he would never see the light of day again. And that General Glozelle too…this was their entire fault. This injury on your head only made you more exhausted and worn out for every minute that it was not tended to. You momentarily worried about what would happen if it got worse. Would it damage your memory even further? Was it infected? You thought that it was only a concussion…but how would you know? You didn't even have the chance to touch your head to see how big of a bump it left behind. And what would happen if you got hit in that same spot twice? Surely that would be detrimental to your health. But there was nothing you could possibly do except sit and wait, and that irked you so much.

"_Oh well…I guess I'll just have to wait for morning…"_ you helplessly thought.

After all, you were very tired, in pain, and angry for some strange reason. Right now…all you wanted was for the sunrise to come so that you could just have the slightest idea of what was going on.

And with the final day dream of Caspian soothing your damaged head, you eventually drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

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**Caspian's POV**

This was it…today was the big day.

That day that would set the fate of Narnia for his reign as King. This battle would either make Caspian, or break him. He would either both be throned and hailed as King, victorious from the war, or he would be a rotting corpse among the other Narnians who fought in the battle.

The pressure was almost too much to bear…and Caspian felt his arms shaking as he put on the remaining bits of armor.

Even though the only battle was supposed to be between Miraz and Peter, Caspian knew his Uncle all too well to play by the rules. Of course they had a backup plan, and that plan was war. However, it was much more thought out and planned then that of the night of the raid on the castle. This plan was sure to work…or so Caspian dearly hoped it would.

If Aslan was really as mighty and magnificent as Lucy and Susan had told him about, then they had nothing to worry about.

But still, with a probable and deadly war on the brink of erupting, Caspian was naturally anxious; because this time…he had absolutely no control over or knowledge of Jade's whereabouts or safety. Technically…he did not last time at the raid on the castle. But still…this time around it felt different.

Back then, he had left Jade in the safety of the How. He had been able to look upon her safe and sound figure before leaving for battle. But this time, he had no idea if she would even show up for the duel…or if she would be put out of harms way.

As much as Caspian wanted to see her at the duel that was about to take place in a few hours, he still wanted her out of harms way. And just the thought of he still being held captive by his Uncle made him worry all the more. Miraz didn't care about her…he was not taking the necessary safety percussions to keep her unharmed during the upcoming string of events.

He probably didn't care if she lived or died…

But even though Caspian wished for her not to be there tomorrow, his heart longed to see her. It must have taken him all of his self-control to keep himself from strangling Edmund the other day with jealous after the young King had told them about how he saw Jade. Caspian wished that he had been in Edmund's shoes…only so he could lay his eyes on her. They wouldn't need to say anything…Caspian wouldn't even mind if he couldn't touch or kiss her. He just wanted to see her for himself up close so he could be reassured that she was safe.

Trying to dismiss the swirling thoughts about the girl he so longed to see, Caspian sheathed his sword and walked into the other room of the How were he was supposed to see off Susan and Lucy. Edmund and Peter were busy with Glenstorm and the other head Narnians who were running through the plans once more. Caspian, on the other hand, knew the part he played and would much rather see off the two girls seeing as they were probably shaking with fear and anxiety for their task.

At least…that's how he expected them to be.

But walking into the other room, he saw Susan and Lucy chatting quite animatedly amongst one another, each of them letting out a girlish squeal every once in awhile. Caspian was glad that Jade never squealed like that…

But anyways, Caspian was very surprised to see that they looked upon him with smiling faces when he walked into the room. They didn't seem nervous in the least. On the contrary, they seemed rather…excited.

"Hello, Caspian!" they both said simultaneously. Caspian couldn't help it, their smiles were so contagious that he felt himself breaking out into a wide smile as he greeted them back

"Good morning, ladies." He said walking over to them. "I hope you had a good night's sleep."

"The best!" beamed Lucy. "I dreamt of Aslan! Everything is going to-"

"That's enough, Lucy." Susan said, her tone becoming a bit harsh. But that was expected from Susan, she was like the mother of the Pevensies. And if it was one thing that she did not want, it was for everyone to get false hopes and be crushed if everything doesn't go as planned. "But we really need to get going." She said, looking up to Caspian for support.

Caspian straightened up, becoming a bit more serious himself. "Right." He said before letting out a whistle throughout the How.

In just a few moments, his horse trotted through the doorway and up to him and the two sisters. Susan and Lucy happily petting the dear horse as Caspian strapped on the saddles and necessary equipment.

After everything was in place, Caspian helped the two girls atop his horse and placed them on his saddle gently. He then began to brush his horse lovingly, hoping that this would not be the last time he saw his dear companion.

"I've had this horse for many years…and never has she wronged me." He said looking back up to the two girls. "You are in good hands."

"Or hoofs!" Lucy giggled, which caused Caspian to let out a low chuckle as he continued to pet his horse. Susan smiled a bit, as if only realizing what danger she was putting her younger sister in. She was not worried for herself; she was very confident and had gotten much stronger the past few weeks back in Narnia. But little Lucy had never been in battle before, not even in the Golden Ages of Narnia when they were Queens. She could ride a horse very well, but Susan doubted she could hold her own against a pack of Telmarine soldiers.

Then, as if just remembering something, Caspian's hands went to his pocket where he retrieved something wrapped up in white cloth. Unraveling the heirloom, Susan and Lucy realized that he was holding Susan's Horn. Susan let out a surprised gasp; she had not seen her horn for 1300 years.

Caspian looked up to her and handed her the horn. "Maybe it's time you had this back." He said.

But even though Susan was shocked and looked upon the Horn with nostalgia, she did not make a move for it. She looked back to Lucy and gave her younger sister a wry smile before turning back to Caspian.

"Why don't you hold on to it…" she said, causing Caspian to look up at her with confusion, "you might need to call me again." And with that, she and Lucy broke out into laughter while Caspian turned red from embarrassment.

"No, take it…I insist." He said, holding up the horn even higher. But Susan still did not make a move for it.

"Caspian, it's alright. We'll be fine. You keep it and call us if anything happens." Susan said.

Caspian looked a bit irritated and kept insisting. "The entire army is stationed here…I doubt that it would be _us_ who would need _you_." He said, instantly regretting his words for it looked like he had deeply insulted Susan. Lucy looked uneasy, hoping that the same thing that happened between Peter and Caspian would not happen again with Susan and Caspian.

"I can handle everything." Susan gritted through her teeth, trying not to start an argument.

"Not if that…thing that we talked about with the Professor shows up." Caspian said sternly, reminding Susan of her encounter with The Serpent. Susan immediately straightened up, realizing what Caspian was talking about. She was about to reach for the Horn when…

"What did you talk about with Professor Cornelius?" Lucy asked shrilly, not liking the fact that she was being left out because of her age.

"Nothing!" Susan said quickly, sharply pulling her hand away from the Horn. "Nothing…everything's alright. Good Luck, Caspian. See you soon." She finished just as quickly before riding off at once, leaving Caspian behind, bewildered and uneasy.

He could distinctly hear Lucy's voice echoing through the How as she said "But I want to know what he said!"

Caspian still stood there shocked and worried, watching the place where the two girls left until he heard a familiar voice.

"Give them a ten minute's head start before going after them." Said Peter from behind. Caspian didn't even turn around at his voice.

"Not with my horse." Caspian said. "I'll give them five."

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**Uh-oh! Jade has already completely forgotten about her life back in America. Even her dreams aren't familiar anymore! As for Peter…let's hope he survives in the next few chapters! I hope you all liked this one, because the next chapter is when things start to pick up again! **

**And like I said before, next chapter will be up Tuesday at the latest. So until then, I would really really appreciate it if you all REVIEWED! That would be awesome :)**

**And go out and see the Dark Knight!**


	26. Chapter 26: The First Illusion

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, so seeing as the next few events in the movie switch between multiple view points (all the Pevensies and Caspian) I'm going to have to do the same with the POV's. I'm hoping it doesn't get to confusing for everyone, but this is how it goes. If a part of the story is in Jade's POV, I will refer to her as 'you' and everyone else by their names. It makes the story more personal. And to keep it personal, when I use someone else's POV, such as I have in the past with Caspian, and will not use 'you' for him. I will still use 'Caspian'. So it's sort of like I'm just flipping the page to see what's going on with him and not actually putting you in his shoes, like I do with Jade. So I hope that clears everything up. If you're still a bit confused, let me know.**

**And I would also like to give a big thanks to my dear reviewer, friend, and fellow writer, Twlightmoon416 for all her support and for making me a banner! Please go and check it out! I would love you if you did!**

i58./albums/g280/TwilightMoon/Banners/CASPIANBANNERcopy.jpgI

**And now, here's Chapter 26 already! I made sure I could make time so that I could write this one as early as I could! …So what will happen in this Chapter?? Will…**

…**Jade and Caspian finally meet?**

…**Caspian and Susan get into a fight?**

…**Lucy not be able to find Aslan?**

**Only I know the answer :) Hehe that was fun…I should do that for every chapter! And Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 26: The First Illusion**

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian was a liar.

It had not even been two minutes until he let out a whistle, calling over on of the Narnian horses to prepare for the trip after Lucy and Susan.

It was not only that he didn't believe that Susan and Lucy would be safe and that he horse was just too fast to catch with a five minute's head start, but the minute that he had been standing here with Peter had been the most awkward minute of his life.

No one had spoken a word, and it was driving Caspian mad. Peter was just sitting at the Stone Table, looking up at the mural of Aslan. His back was leaned up straight as a board against the Table and his hands were clasped around his knee that he held up against his chest. He had been doing that for a while now, and Caspian had thought that it had been just his nerves getting the better of him. But now…it seemed like much more.

It was a fact…Peter had always had the fate of Narnia resting upon his shoulders. He was High King. He was the one who always called the shots, he was the one who had to make all the difficult decisions…and now…he was the one who would have to go up and face Caspian's Uncle Miraz in what would become one of the most brutal one on one battles that Caspian would ever see. Not to mention the after affects of their deathly duel…

Narnian would either live or die today…and so would Peter.

But then again, the same could be said for everyone. He, Caspian, may die in battle as well as all of the other Narnians. Edmund could possibly get killed trying to defend his brother. Jade could possibly get killed because no one would be there to save her. And Susan and Lucy could possibly get killed if no one went after them to make sure they got through the woods…

"_Oh right!"_ Caspian instantly remembered, trying to shake away the thoughts of his new family meeting their unexpected and unwanted doom. He was supposed to leave now and help his friends…even though they would probably let him have it once they found out he had followed them out of sheer worry and disbelief. Lucy probably would care all that much that he had come after them…but he didn't even want to think of what Susan might do…

Once he shook himself out of those dreadful thoughts, he noticed that a new horse had come up to him and was already saddled up and ready to go. He also noticed Peter on the other side of the horse, the one who had prepared the horse for Caspian.

"Leaving already?" Peter asked as nonchalantly as someone asks the time. He did not seem mad or surprised, but more like trying to make light conversation to ease his nerves before he had to face Miraz. Caspian was no fool…he could detect the fear and anxiety in his voice.

"If I wait any longer, my horse could be half way across Narnia by the time I leave." He said, causing Peter to laugh.

"So the girls are in good hands" Peter asked, evidently more concerned about the lives of his siblings than his own.

Caspian had the urge for some reason to mimic Lucy's past comment and say how they were indeed in good hoofs, but he resisted.

"The best." Caspian said instead.

He then mounted his horse and Peter handed him his sword once he was steadied in his saddle. It would be a bit difficult to get used to any other horse than his own, but Caspian would do his best.

"Take care of them." Peter said, looking directly at Caspian.

And Caspian would not let Peter down, not this time at least. This time…everything would go according to plan.

"You need not worry about me or them…worry about yourself." Caspian said. The way he said it was not harsh at all, but rather warningly. Even Caspian did not know what Miraz might have up his sleeve, but whatever he was planning, he hoped that he could get back on time to help. "I must be off now." Caspian was about to leave when Peter spoke once more, causing him to pull back hard on the reigns.

"Well make it quick…" said Peter, referring to Caspian's trip to find Susan and Lucy. "I might need you back here before the duel's over…"

Caspian could not believe his ears. If he was a girl…he surely would cry or say something sappy and heartfelt back. But right now, all he could do was look at Peter in disbelief. It was true that they had already put their differences aside for the war, but that did not necessarily mean that things would not go back downhill again after the war was over.

But now…it was like Peter was finally acknowledging Caspian as an equal. It was as if he was saying he needed Caspian sooner so that he could help him with strategies and give him moral support as he fought Miraz. He was basically saying that he needed Caspian, as well as his brother Edmund, by his side as he fought what could possibly be his last battle.

And it wasn't just that he needed Caspian there…but he wanted him there as well.

Every man's dying wish is to have those who are most important to him by his side as he breaths his last breathes…and surprisingly, Caspian was one of those people to Peter...and Caspian had never felt so confident in his whole life.

"I will be back here in time…and I will not let any harm come to your sisters…I promise." He said confidently. And with that, Caspian set off to catch up to the two Pevensie ladies.

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**Susan's POV **

Susan and Lucy hadn't even been riding for ten minutes until they heard the sound of approaching guards. Susan was not one to panic, but rather worry for the safety of her younger sister who kept stealing backward glances at the approaching soldiers. Lucy looked terrified.

"They've spotted us!" Lucy shrieked. She looked as if she were on the brink of tears. Lucy had never been in battle before…

As for Susan…if Susan could choose any way to die, it would be in defending her siblings, especially Lucy who could not defend herself. Caspian's horse was very fast, but not fast enough to outrun what looked like five Telmarine soldiers who were hot on their trail. They would eventually catch up to them or cut them off somewhere. If they kept going, they would both surely die.

_Listen, Susan. You take care of Lucy and worry about her. Don't fret over me, I can handle myself. We both need to do what we need to do…"_

Is this what Susan was supposed to do? Peter was back at the How sacrificing his life so that Lucy could get through…he was putting his life on the line for the only hope that Narnia had. Shouldn't Susan be doing to same?

After all…a man is not judged by the way he lives, but the way he dies. And if defending her sister until death was what Susan was meant to do for Narnia, then she would do it without a second thought.

Susan steered the horse so that it made a sharp right, leading them up a steep hill and into a small clearing in the forest. Lucy looked upon her sister with shock and confusion as the High Queen jumped off of the horse, grabbing her bow and arrow and sword as she went.

"What are you doing?!" Lucy cried as the sound of the Telmarines in the distance became louder with every passing moment.

"It looks like you'll be going alone after all, Lucy." Susan said.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked. "Get back on! We need to keep to the plan!"

"Well then there's going to be a change in the plans." Susan said giving her younger sister a stern look. "You need to get to Aslan safely no matter what, Lucy. You're our only hope."

"But they'll be here soon!" Lucy continued to argue.

"I can handle them. Go on without me." Susan replied. And when Lucy made no move to leave, she hit the horse so that it would ride off with Lucy safely tucked in on the saddle. Susan had faith in her sister…she would get to Aslan safe and sound and these Telmarine soldiers would have to go through her if they wanted to ever dream of catching up to Lucy.

Pulling out her first arrow, Susan steadied her pose as she prepared for the first soldier to appear up in the clearing.

And as soon as she saw the tip of his helmet appear over the slope of the hit, Susan let go of her arrow and watched as it embedded itself in the forehead of her first victim. She immediately pulled out another arrow and waited for the others.

A few seconds later, the three remaining Telmarine soldiers sprung into the clearing. Susan quickly fired one arrow after another, knocking two soldiers off their horses in a time span of about five seconds.

Reaching back into her arrow carrier, she grasped one of her last remaining arrows. But as she looked up, she realized that the fourth soldier was coming straight at her with his sword dangerously swinging in his arm. Susan ducked just in time to avoid the fatal swing of his sword.

After narrowly avoiding her death, she straightened back up with her weapon, preparing to shoot her arrow into the back of the last soldier.

But the young Queen, unaware of any cunning creatures who may be hiding in the darker parts of the clearing, was taken by surprise as what seemed to be a very thick branch on the floor swept her off her feet, causing her to lose her footing and fall on her back…her bow and arrow out of reach.

Her eyes tightened shut for a split second as she felt the blow from her fall, just enough time for the creature to get away unharmed and prepare for his next devious plan.

Susan's eyesight was a bit blurry as she opened her eyes, the pain and tears making it even harder for her to concentrate on what was happening before her eyes. But when everything did come back into focus, Susan saw something that made her cock her head to the side in utter confusion.

What she saw before her was the Telmarine soldier, that she was about to kill, being slain by another Telmarine soldier…

If now was the appropriate time, she surely would have laughed.

"_I guess those rotten Telmarines aren't even comrades with one another…how pathetic."_ She thought to herself.

She decided that this was the perfect time to take down the fifth and final Telmarine. She quickly bent down and picked up her fallen bow and arrow, aiming it at the victorious soldier who was now making his way towards her upon his horse.

"Put that thing down, it's only me." The soldier said lightheartedly. How dare he talk to her as if he knew her so familiarly! He was the enemy.

Observing him, Susan noted that he had long, straggly blonde hair. His eyes were a dark and looming color, as his face was so thin…it looked like he had had all the blood sucked out of him. He reminded of her of a vampire, those foul fantasy creatures that were in books from her home back in England.

Susan pretended like the man didn't even speak. "Back off now and I won't have to take your life." She said in a deathly voice. The man gave off a chuckle which made Susan flare even more. He put his hands up in defeat, but still continued to make his way towards her on his horse.

"Listen…I know you're probably mad that I came after you and everything, but now's not the time to- WOW!" the man shrieked as Susan let her arrow fly, causing him to jump off of his horse to avoid the arrow that was meant for his neck.

The soldier fell to the ground with a thud, immediately pulling out his shield as his did so.

"Hey! Can't we talk this over or something!" he yelled as he blocked her second arrow with his shield.

"No!" She shouted. The soldier shuddered at her tone, as well as the force that the arrow had been sent with. It made his shield vibrate violently, and he cursed this woman for being such an amazing archer.

"What's gotten into you?!" he said.

Susan let out a huff of disgust as she listened to the man beg for her to stop. What did he mean, 'what's gotten into you"? They were enemies of course! Spare his life…like hell she would. She reached behind her to grab another arrow, but realized that she was all out. The man seemed to notice this as well, seeing as he stood up without fearing another arrow coming in his direction.

She let out a long sigh, throwing her bow to the side and unsheathing her sword. She had really hoped it wouldn't have to come down to this. She wasn't as experienced with sword fighting as her brothers Peter and Edmund were, but she was at least decent. And with her arrows all out, this would have to do. She confidently approached the soldier, ready to fight.

However, the Telmarine soldier seemed a bit reluctant to fight, and Susan found this rather peculiar. She watched as he kept backing away from her, seemingly refusing to draw his sword.

This also irked her a bit. What was his problem? Was he afraid he would hurt her, a girl? Well then…this dirty Telmarine soldier would see how much of a helpless girl she was.

"What's the matter with you?" she taunted. The coward…

"I should be asking you the same thing!" The man said back. Susan was able to detect the fear in his voice.

"_This should be easy."_ She thought confidently as she prepared to fight this man to the death.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

Caspian could not believe his eyes. Was Susan really ready about to fight him? Had she gone mad? He watched her as she threw her bow aside and take out her sword. If this wasn't such a serious situation, Caspian would have laughed.

"_I can't believe I might have to fight a girl…"_ he thought. Sure, Susan probably was half decent at handling a sword, but not as good as Caspian was. After all, he had beaten Peter twice now; the first time when they met, and the second time the morning after the raid on the castle. Or at least, Caspian liked to tell himself that he had won both of those fights.

"What's the matter with you?" she said with a smirk. Caspian continued to back away. Maybe if he stalled enough, she would calm down or something.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Caspian said. This was madness, what was wrong with her?

"Too afraid to fight a woman?" she taunted again, stepping closer to him.

"Susan, seriously," Caspian said, trying to get this over with quick so he could go back and help Peter, "this has gotten out of hand. I'm sorry I came after you, but I had to. Now…put the sword down and let's get back to the How." He tried to reason, but Susan still wouldn't listen.

"Like hell! You will not set foot in Aslan's sacred How, filthy Telmarine!" And with that, Susan lunged at Caspian with all her force. Caspian quickly shielded himself from her blow of the sword and pulled out his sword. As he did so, Susan backed away, fury emanating from her blue eyes. "And how _dare_ you call me by my name…how _dare _you talk to me so familiarly."

Caspian was utterly shocked…and hurt. Had she just called him a filthy Telmarine? Susan, of all people, was not a person to judge…and she had accepted him as Prince Caspian when they had first met. She was fully aware that even though he had been a Telmarine, he was still on the Narnian's side and was trying to help them all. So why did she choose now to show her true feelings for him? And did she really despise him that much.

Had she always hated him? Waiting for the one moment where they could be alone together so that she could get rid of him once and for all? Either that…or she had gone completely mental.

Caspian also remembered that day on the balcony of the How when his Professor had told him and Susan about the story of The Serpent. That day, he had held Susan in his arms, comforting her and telling her that the escape of The Serpent wasn't her fault. He had thought that they had become much closer after that incident, he now considered her the sister he never had. So why, after everything he had done for her, was she acting like this?

"Susan…" he said, speechless. "What's wrong with you!? Have you gone mad?"

"Stop calling me by my name!" She let her sword fly again, but Caspian expertly blocked it with his own sword.

"I'm sorry?" Caspian said confusedly, still bewildered that Susan was fighting him. "What did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this?"

Susan kept swinging her sword, delivering one blow after the other. She was good, but Caspian was better. He blocked every single swing perfectly without even breaking a sweat, whereas Susan was gasping for breath as she continued to try to land a hit on him. And what was worse, it didn't even look like Caspian was trying. This angered Susan even more.

"Stop holding back!" She growled.

"If I wasn't, you would already be dead!" Caspian yelled back.

Susan seemed taken aback by this comment and pulled her sword back to her side in shock. As much as she wanted to stand up straight, she was worn out, and her hands fell to her knees as she bent over in exhaustion, her sword falling to the ground beside her. She looked up at him.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" she asked. Caspian smiled a bit, disregarding how she had recently called him a filthy Telmarine.

"Now, why would I want to do that?" Caspian said. He put his sword back in the sheath and walked over to Susan, lending her a hand as he loomed over her panting form. "Come on, enough of this. We need to go back and help Peter."

Much to Caspian's surprise, Susan bolted upright and slapped his hand away. Caspian back up, afraid that she might try to tackle him or something.

"Why are you doing this?!" she asked rudely. "Why are you trying to help us?! We don't need help from the likes of _you_!"

Caspian held his hands up in exasperation. That comment was like a stab to the heart. It was like the second fight he had with Peter, when The High King said that Narnia would have been better off without him. "Susan…what's wrong with you? Why do you hate me all of a sudden?"

Susan snorted. "Why do I hate you? Ha…do I need to make a list?"

Caspian lowered his eyes. "I don't get it…I thought we were getting along fine…I didn't know you felt this way." He said in a hurt tone.

"Oh, please." Susan said, disgusted. "Who do you think you are?"

"It's me, Caspian!" Caspian blurted out. "I'm on your side! Of course I want to help you! I have never given you a reason to hate me…and right now we are in the middle of a war! So stop all of this nonsense!" Caspian was beyond furious at this point. Susan was acting like a complete bitch to him and he hadn't even done anything right. They couldn't waste any more time here bickering, Peter needed his help…

"Excuse me?" Susan said, taken aback. Her eyes were narrowed in anger, and she also looked a bit offended. "Who did you say you were?"

Caspian let out an impatient sigh. "I'm Caspian, remember? Prince-"

"How _dare _you!" Susan shrieked as she dashed for her sword and charged at Caspian with it. Luckily for the young Prince, he had quick reflexes and was able to block her swing just in time, that is, before it took off his head. Remembering the move that Peter did on him the first time they met and fought, Caspian swung his sword around so that Susan's sword flew out of her grasp and landed out of her react.

Realizing that these may be the last minutes of her life, Susan snapped her neck towards Caspian, ready to tell him off before she was silenced forever.

"How _dare_ you call yourself Prince Caspian!" She seethed. "A filthy Telmarine such as yourself could never even dream to be like him. I knew him personally…and he was most certainly the bravest, noblest, and caring Prince I've ever met!"

Had the situation been different, Caspian would have smiled and blushed at the complements. However, now he was even more confused. Wasn't she just yelled at him? And now she was speaking highly of him as if he wasn't there standing right in front of her.

"Susan…" he said softly, in a beautiful tone that could only belong to him. "It's me…Caspian. I'm right here…" he reached out to grasp her shoulder, but Susan moved back away with fear in her eyes. "Don't you see me…?"

"No…" she said softly back, but instantly shook her head violently, ashamed that she was playing into his games…falling into his trap. "But that's impossible! You can't possibly be Caspian. Logically, it's simply impossible!"

"Calm down, Susan." Caspian said in the same gentle voice, and the young Queen seemed to relax a bit. "Now, listen. Look at me and tell me what you see." He said, trying to sort this out in the most reasonable way.

"Alright…" Susan said as she observed him. "I see a young man dressed in Telmarine armor…with blonde hair…dark eyes…and a sickly thin face."

Caspian's hands immediately shot to his cheeks, tracing them with his fingertips to see if they were as thin as Susan said they were. He then ripped out a few strands of hair, examining them only too see that they were the same dark brown color that his hair had always been. And lastly, he looked down at his form, which was clad in Narnian armor and boots.

Susan watched Caspian as he struggled to observe himself. It amused her a bit…but it also confused her to no end. It seemed as if he wasn't one hundred percent sure of how he really looked.

After making sure he still looked like his normal self, Caspian looked up at Susan and stared into here eyes deeply.

"You can't see me…can you?"

……………………………………………………………………

**Susan's POV **

"You can't see me…can you?" the soldier asked sadly.

"No…" Susan said back, a bit surprised that she believed this person who seemed to be a complete stranger. But…he really did remind her of Caspian…

"I wish there was some way to prove myself to you." He said. And just as quickly as he blocked all of Susan's attacks, an idea came to him. "Of course…don't you remember? We had that talk together with the Professor one day. Remember? He told us about The Serpent that came back and-"

And suddenly, all the pieces fit together. Susan disregarded the soldier/Caspian impersonator as he continued to ramble on. She did not need to hear any more of his pleas…she believed him. She believed that he really was Caspian. But right now she was trying to concentrate and remember that same conversation that they both had with the Professor.

"_I am certain the Serpent will lay low for awhile before it attempts to tempt another Daughter of Eve. So…for now, just don't let your guard down…and do not trust in everything you see. The snake has lived for so very many years…entwining himself with evil and powers that are beyond the White Witch's, making him a master of sin and of illusion. He is tricky…tempting…even more so that the Witch, Caspian. Do not underestimate him…"_

Susan let out a sharp intake of breath. This was it…this was what was happening. The Serpent was tricking them. And what's worse was that he was probably in this very clearing…lurking in the shadows somewhere.

"_Do not trust in everything you see…"_

Her eyes shot up to Caspian's, and it was like she was finally seeing him for the first time. She reached her hand out to him and touched his cheek. And the young man did not jump back or shiver at her touch. He looked a bit insulted, seeing as he probably realized that she had been ignoring him this whole time as he rambled. He then looked deeply at her, and she knew it was Caspian.

"Master of Illusion…" she whispered. Caspian nodded, and Susan figured that he had solved the mystery himself as well.

Then the both of them heard a rustle in the woods from behind Susan. Caspian's eyes caught something that Susan was unable to, and he gave her a stern look that told her not to turn around or make a commotion. She panicked, remembering her first encounter and failure with The Serpent. She did not want to have to face him again…Caspian noticed this, and told her with his eyes that everything was going to be ok.

His right hand traveled slowly and stealthily into his side pocket, and Susan noticed that he pulled out small yet dangerously sharp looking dagger. Caspian kept his eyes locked with hers.

"It really is me, Susan. You have to trust me." He said. She smiled at him, as if accepting the consequences for what he was about to do.

"I trust you." She whispered back.

And then before she could even breathe, Caspian pushed her aside and threw the dagger at the upright Serpent that appeared in full view once Susan was out of the way. It's once yellow eyes were now glowing red…apparently that was what happened while it performed illusions. But once the dagger came its way, The Serpent's eyes turned back to their normal catlike yellow.

Unfortunately, The Serpent was able to slither away and dodge the oncoming dagger before it struck him dead and it disappeared into the forest. Caspian didn't even watch The Serpent as it retreated. Instead, he knelt down to help Susan in case he had actually hurt her when he pushed him.

And when Susan looked up, it was Caspian. Not like it had not been him all along, but now she could actually see him. She was overjoyed.

"Oh, Caspian!" She said, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you! I didn't hurt you when we fought, did I?" she asked, searching him and fussing over his condition like a mother.

Caspian wouldn't dare tell her that she couldn't ever hurt him in a sword fight even if she tried, and instead changed the subject.

"No, I'm alright. Did I hurt you when I pushed you?" he asked. She shook her head. "Sorry about that…it looked like it was going to attack you." Susan's eyes widened in fear for a split second before she quickly composed herself once more, not wanting to become a complete wreck and cry in front of Caspian like she had before. She put on a smile, pushing her fears aside.

"It's fine, really. I'm alright as well." She said as she dusted off the dirt and leaves that her dress and hair had collected while on the ground. Caspian was relieved to hear that she was alright. "But, I really am so sorry! I didn't mean to say all those dreadful things to you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." Caspian chuckled at this; of course he would forgive her.

"Don't worry about it. It's alright." They both smiled at one another, glad that everything was sorted out. He then remembered the situation they were in and how they still had plans to carry out. "And what about Lucy?" he asked, hoping that the young Queen was safe.

"She got through." Susan reassured him.

"Good. Then I guess we should be getting back to Peter now." Caspian said as he called over his horse.

Susan nodded, and waited for Caspian to mount the horse first so that he could help her up after. Once they were both settled in their saddles, Caspian kicked his horse and they both rode off full speed back to the How.

"So…" Caspian said as they rode back. "I guess you did need that Horn after all." He laughed. Susan rolled her eyes.

"Shut up!" she defended, which only caused Caspian to laugh harder.

"_Men…"_ she said to herself so that the cocky Prince beside her would not hear. "_Oh well…speaking of cocky men…I do hope Peter will still be alive by the time we get there…"_

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**Wow…time flies by when you get your inspiration back! And this time I was quick…it's only been two days! Wooo!**

**And sorry for the Caspian/Susan moment for all the Susan haters. Don't worry! Remember, this story is Caspian/OC. There will be absolutely no love between Caspian and Susan. **

**And also, for all of you who guessed B, you were right! Congrats! Even though Caspian was a bit of a sexist pig when they were fighting :)**

**But anyways, next chapter will be up Friday at the latest because I'm working every single day this week… :( Don't worry though, I will try my best to have it up much sooner. And seeing as I posted extra quick I expect some heartfelt reviews!!**

**Please review!!**


	27. Chapter 27: The Second Illusion

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ha! A day early. Better than not early…**

**Ok, so sorry about that last chapter not having any Jade/Caspian reunion or anything. And sorry again for all the Susan haters who were probably biting their nails in fury during that whole chapter. I know…they must be annoying to read seeing as all you want to see is Jade be reunited with Caspian. Don't worry, things will get better in due time.**

**As for the POV's that are neither Jade nor Caspian, please do not skip them or anything. I know you all could probably care less what happens to Susan and Lucy but there is important information that you need to read. So don't skip them! Please! And please review them anywat.**

**And Jade is back in this chapter so yay for Jade (and you). **

**And I'm to lazy to think up a multiple choice question of what will happen in this chapter so I'm just gonna shut up now and say "Now on with the story…"**

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**Chapter 27: The Second Illusion**

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**Lucy's POV **

Lucy kept shooting nervous glances behind her. She hoped that her sister would be alright and still alive. Susan was a master archer…surely she wouldn't be taken down so easily. Lucy had faith in her sister, but she was still scared that something bad might have happened.

But she would not dare turn back, because she was Narnia's last hope. She had to find Aslan if it was the last thing she did.

And as she glanced back for about the fiftieth time, she saw what she had been dreading all along. Apparently, one of the soldiers had gotten past Susan and was now following her. Or maybe…one of the soldiers had _killed_ Susan, therefore, was able to get past her and follow Lucy.

The young girl fought the urge to cry at the possible fate of her sister and kept riding as fast as Caspian's horse could take her.

And then, something to her left caught her eye. Snapping her head in the direction of the object moving alongside her, Lucy's worries were immediately diminished as she saw Aslan running beside her. She gazed at her dear friend, Aslan, lovingly. She was so glad he was here! Now everything would be alright, just like it had been when he came back and saved them from the White Witch.

With a mighty roar, Lucy watched as Aslan pounced on the soldier and knocked him off of his horse. The mighty lion was too busy dealing with the soldier to notice anything unusual. As was Lucy, who was still gazing at Aslan with amazement as he tackled the Telmarine.

Lucy did notice, however, that something had seemingly spooked her horse; for while Aslan was watching the helpless Telmarine soldier flee away like a coward, her horse reared up on its hind legs, throwing the little girl off its back with ease. The horse then made a run for it, leaving its rider a messy heap on the forest ground.

Lucy gave the horse a death glare as she watched him ride off. What had gotten into him? The young girl diminished the questioning thoughts as she stood up and took sight of the magnificent Lion that stood before her. A burst of sunlight shone through the trees, putting the great and wise Aslan in the sunlight of the dimly lit forest. Lucy beamed.

She ran as fast as she could towards her old friend. She embraced his mane, and Aslan collapsed to the ground in joyful laughter at her touch.

"Aslan! You came back! I knew you would!" her face then fell to a frown. "But the others…they didn't believe me."

"And why would that ever stop you from coming to see me?" Aslan asked her, neither happy nor mad.

If possible, Lucy's face fell even more. She was under the impression that Aslan was deeply disappointed in her. "I'm sorry…I was too scared to come here on my own. I'm not very brave…"

At this statement, Aslan chuckled. Lucy was very confused; she thought the mighty Aslan was displeased with her. "My dear…if you were any braver, you would be a Lioness."

She brightened up at this comment. "So you're not mad at me?"

"No…of course not, little one." He replied.

"So you're going to help us?!" She beamed.

"Yes." He nodded, his golden mane shining in the streak of sunlight. However, Lucy's face fell once more.

"Why did you leave, Aslan. Why didn't you come back and help us like you did last time?" she asked sadly.

"My dear…" Aslan said, lowering his head so that his eyes were level with Lucy's, "…things never happen the same way twice."

Lucy was silent for a while, deciphering his words carefully and thoughtfully. "I supposed…but you're still going to help, right?" she asked nervously. Aslan smiled down at her.

"You need not worry anymore, little one. I'm here now, and I will indeed help you." He said.

Lucy smiled back, that is, until she suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Aslan! You wouldn't have happened to see Susan, did you? She stayed behind and fought some other soldiers so that I could get through to you. Do you know if she is alright?" Lucy asked desperately.

"My dear, I think you more than anyone would know the answer to that." He said. Lucy looked a bit confused, so he explained it to her. "I do believe that if anything happened to your sister… you would feel it. Look deep inside you heart…and ask yourself that same question."

The young Queen smiled, finally understanding his words. It was true, even though she was very worried about her sister, she would most likely feel it.

"You're right…I have a feeling she's safe. But Peter's in trouble, I can tell. We need you now, Aslan. Narnia's in trouble!" she said.

"Then let's not waste any time." Aslan said. He stood up on all four, and Lucy quickly climbed onto his back. Once she was all settled, he jolted off at top speed.

But Lucy couldn't help but realize that they were not going in the right direction towards the How. Was Aslan lost or something? Surely he must know where his own How was. What could he be doing?

"Aslan… this isn't the way back to your How?" she asked. "Where are we going."

"To the Telmarine's base camp." He said. Lucy looked a bit scared and let out a startled gasp.

"But why ever would we go there?" she asked.

"Do not be frightened, little one. No harm will come to you while I'm around." He said which comforted her a great deal. "And to answer your question, I was thinking that we would make a little stop along the way to save your new friend. Don't you agree?" he asked with a smile.

Lucy's eyes brightened up at his idea. "Jade!" she squealed excitedly. "Oh, how could I have forgotten!? Of course I want to go rescue her. But…how did you know about her Aslan? Who is she…and why is she here?"

"All your questions will by answered in due time, my old friend. In due time…" he replied.

……………………………………………………………………

Lucy and Aslan had been riding for a long time now, and Lucy couldn't help but feel like they had been running around in circles. It was like the scenery hadn't changed one bit…and she could have sworn that they passed that tree five times by now. But the weird thing was that she was certain that they were not running in circles because the path Aslan had been taking was straight and true. By all means, they should not be lost. If anyone knew this forest like they back of their paw it would be Aslan. She wondered if he was aware of this dilemma.

"Aslan…something doesn't feel right…" she said nervously.

The great Lion came to a halt after her words. "Indeed…it appears that we have been running in circles…" he said.

"So we're lost?" Lucy asked, not liking the way this conversation was going. But Aslan had said that no harm would come to her while he was around, so he would surely keep her safe from whatever was happening.

"No…I don't believe we were ever lost. If my memory serves me right, the Telmarine camp should be very close to where we are." He said confidently. Now Lucy was utterly confused.

"But we're in the exact same spot as where we first started." She said, and it was true. This was the same place where Aslan had tackled the Telmarine soldier and saved her life, she was sure of it. But how could that be possible? They had been traveling for so long to be in the same spot.

"So it appears…" he repeated, which caused Lucy to huff with impatience from the Lion refusing to give her a straight answer.

"Tell me what's wrong, Aslan. I promise I won't be frightened." She said. "What's going on?"

"I believe we have a traitor in our midst…" Aslan said quietly as he looked back and forth, scanning the forest from top to bottom. It was if he was able to see something that Lucy could not.

"What kind of traitor?" Lucy asked. Whenever the word 'traitor' was brought up, she couldn't help her mind as it wandered back to Edmund. Thankfully, he had turned good in the end, and that's why Lucy was never biased to the word 'traitor' anymore. According to her, there were different kinds of traitors. Such as, there were the kinds that eventually ask for forgiveness for their wrongdoings, like Edmund, and then there were the kinds that take their bad reputation to their grave.

"The worst kind…" Aslan said. Lucy did not like the sound of that. "Don't panic, my dear. I will take care of everything. Just sit back and listen carefully…"

Lucy willingly obliged to Aslan's words, and waiting patiently to hear and watch what he was about to do. She had no idea what was going on…but she would soon find out. It was only a few seconds later that Aslan spoke. But he was not speaking to her; rather, he seemed to be talking to someone who Lucy could not even see or hear. His voice rang out through the whole forest.

"Demon!" he roared into the clearing. "Stop this illusion at once! I will only ask once!" Nothing happened.

"Your foul tricks will never work on me, Serpent! I am above your magic!" But when nothing happened for the second time, Aslan let out an earth shattering roar throughout the forest.

Whatever had been causing the so called 'illusion' seemed to slither away at the sound of Aslan's roar. And what Lucy saw took her breath away. The forest that was right before her seemed to fall to the ground like a blanket. And as the illusion of that one spot in the forest peeled away, their real location came into view right before Lucy's eyes. She was amazed.

They were now standing somewhere completely different than they were before, but nonetheless, they were still in the Narnian forest. The scenery was as beautiful as always, but Lucy couldn't help but feel as if the smell of smoke was wafting throughout this area of the forest. But she quickly diminished the thought, her mind traveling back to Aslan and what he had just done.

So had Aslan knew what was happening all along? And if so, how did he know where to go even though they were being tricked with an illusion? Lucy had almost forgotten how wise the great Lion really was…

"Wow…" she said, amazed. "What happened?" she asked.

Aslan let out a sigh, both glad that he was right at predicting what was causing the illusion but displeased all the same. He was hoping he would not be right…because now Narnia was in even more danger than it had been before.

"Lucy…" Aslan said seriously, "…tell me…have you seen The Serpent?" he asked.

"The what?" Lucy asked back.

"The Serpent." Aslan repeated. "The Demon Snake whom I defeated years ago."

Lucy's eyes then brightened up. That snake…of course. That day when Caspian had almost brought back the White Witch…there had also been a snake that had gotten away. Now she remembered.

"Oh…you mean that snake who came back with the White Witch?" And just as Lucy said that, she instantly regretted it. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth, scolding herself for accidentally telling Aslan of the chaos that was happening while he was gone.

"Yes, yes. That Snake. And don't worry, I already know of what has been going on during my leave. Not to say I'm pleased…but it's best to leave those times in the past…where they belong." He said the last sentence with a growl, as if he was referring to something else.

"Aslan?" Lucy asked, wondering what he was referring to.

"The Serpent and The White Witch…I defeated them both…many many years ago, of course. And when I did, I did not merely take away their life…but I froze them in time…trapping them in the past." He paused for a moment, giving young Lucy time to take in all the information. "They were never supposed to be freed…they were supposed to stay where I put them until the end of time. But…plans change…all I can say is that I'm thankful that Jadis has not returned as well. But now that The Serpent is back…Narnia is in grave danger…"

"I understand, Aslan. But, who is this Serpent exactly? Where did he come from?" Lucy asked.

Aslan then took the time to explain to Lucy how The Serpent was indeed the Demon Snake who tempted Eve in the beginning of time. And just like the Professor did, he told Lucy of how he was a tricky Illusionist who held powers that even Aslan wouldn't dare tamper with.

"He has Three Illusions," Aslan continued to explain, "the First Illusion, also known as the Substitution, is the least dangerous of the Three. It is when The Serpent switches the appearance of one object or person with another object or person. It was used Long Ago in wars and battles to turn soldiers against one another. People would kill their own men…even own family because The Serpent gave them the appearance of the enemy soldiers. It was quite disastrous, but soon enough the people found ways around such illusions. They would have secret codes and such that only their men would know…therefore solving the problem.

The Second Illusion is similar to the First, but more complex. It is what we have just experienced right now… the illusion of being somewhere else than you really are. Somewhat like switching sceneries rather than switching objects. The most common use for the Second Illusion was to make someone feel as if they were lost, such as you were. However, it was also used to make people feel safe…as if they had reached the destination that they were looking for only to realize too late that they had been lured to dangerous grounds. It led many a men to their death, and unfortunately it was far more difficult to evade than the First Illusion.

And the Third Illusion makes The First and Second Illusions look like silly mind games. It is by far one of the most dangerous illusions that I have seen in my long lifetime. However, it can only happen if you look The Serpent directly in his eyes when they are red. It is when he traps your mind in an alternate reality that he creates based on knowledge that he gathers from going though your memories. He is able to do this because once you look him in the eyes, he has power over your own mind. And when you are in his World…there is no going back. At least…I haven't lived to see anyone escape his Third Illusion."

"Oh, my…" Lucy said as she clasped her hands together, thinking about all the poor men whom The Serpent had tricked in the past. She knew that that snake was bad news ever since he escaped that day. She had told Susan to shoot it, but when her sister took no action to do so Lucy was very confused. However, now she knew what had happened. Now she knew that her sister had been tricked…or tempted not to shoot it…or something like that. "How dreadful…"

"Indeed." said Aslan. "Which is why we need to stop him and his cruel games before it's too late…before he traps someone in his Third Illusion."

"Who would do such a thing?" he asked more to herself, but Aslan answered her anyway.

"Only the most Evil creatures, my dear Lucy. Even though you are wise for someone so young…your heart still bears the weight of your innocence. You have not even begun to realize all the kinds of Evil that still exist." He said sadly as he looked down upon her with care.

Lucy shuddered at the thought, but continued to ask the many questioning that were on the tip of her tongue. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I fully understand this Third Illusion. I understand what happens, but what kinds of things would The Serpent show you. What do you mean when you say he goes through your memories and forms a world out of his knowledge?" she asked.

"Well…think of it like this," Aslan began, "Let's say that you were deathly afraid of…spiders. If The Serpent wanted to be especially cruel, he would trap you forever in a World overrun by spiders…where you would life forever in agony. But most of the time The Serpent would use his Third Illusion just to get rid of those who stood in his way, without having to kill him."

"Oh…now I understand." She said. "What a horrible thing to do…what happens to you once you're inside his World?" she asked.

"That I am afraid I do not know, dear one. Whatever happens in The Serpent's World is between the Demon himself and his victim. Thankfully, I have never experienced such a predicament. But what I do know is that it is truly a sad sight to see those poor souls who have been trapped in his Illusion. Once your mind is in The Serpent's Third Illusion, your body becomes dull, lifeless corpse… almost like a deep sleep which you never wake from…"

By this point, Lucy looked rightfully aghast. "Well then we must stop him at once!" she said.

"We will, dear one. But we have more important matters to handle at the moment. Come…let us not waster any more time here. We must find Jade at once. At no cost must she die." He said. Lucy did not dare ask any more questions, but instead climbed onto Aslan's back at once so that they could rescue Jade from wherever the Telmarines were keeping her.

However, she couldn't help but replay Aslan's words in her head. Why was Jade so important that they must keep her safe and alive at all costs? Lucy had known that Jade was meant for great things…why else would she have been brought to Narnia? But the question was why was she here?

Her thoughts were brought back to reality when the stench of smoke had become drastically stronger. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, she had always disliked it when Susan would burn their dinners back in England. It was just something about the smell that she just could handle.

And as the stench grew stronger, Lucy began to notice the many tents and wagons that were spread out through the grounds. Apparently they had finally reached the Telmarine's camp.

But Lucy also grew more nervous as she now not only could smell the smoke, but see it too. In fact, as Aslan traveled deeper into the camp, the smoke was all she could see. It clouded her vision and made her feel nauseous. She was panic-stricken as she wondered where Jade was amidst all this smoke.

And then she heard the distant crackling of fire.

"_The camp must be on fire!" _she desperately thought. _"Where could Jade be?"_

"Aslan!" she said as she let out a few hoarse coughs. "Aslan…it's so hard to breath! And I can't see Jade anywhere…I can't see anything!"

"Keep your hold on me." Aslan replied. And much to Lucy's displeasure, he kept going on towards the direction of the fire. The temperature began to increase with every passing second, and Lucy was certain that she would faint.

But as quickly as the heat and smoke came, it was gone. They had walked right past the fire, and Lucy was relieved to finally be able to breath. The gray smoke still lingered in the air, but it was not enough to be hazardous to Lucy's lungs.

And then came the sound of coughing not too far away. Lucy's head perked up, her eyes being able to faintly catch the sight of a figure through the thin smoke.

At the sight of her friend, Lucy jumped off of Aslan's back and ran towards the sound of her friend. As she came closer, she could now see Jade's small form clearly through the dissimilating smoke. Her poor friend was struggling in the ropes that had her bound to a tree, most likely scared for her life that she didn't have much time until the fire burned her alive.

"Jade!" Lucy called out to the girl. Jade's head immediately snapped in the direction of Lucy, her eyes brightening up at her savior. Lucy noted, thankfully, that Jade had not been harmed or burned by the smoke.

"Oh, Lucy!" Jade called back as she watched Lucy pulled out her dagger as she ran to her side.

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**Jade's POV**

You were more than overjoyed to see your young friend running to your aid. You wouldn't die after all…

You had been sitting helplessly for a while now, only being able to watch the fire as it burned down everything in its path. You had surely thought that this was the end for you…but thankfully your friends had come to your rescue once more.

"_What kind of idiot leaves a campfire burning in the middle of the day!?"_ you said, curing the Telmarine soldier who was to blame for the fire.

Lucy knelt by your side and ripped through the roped with her dagger. And once you were free, she embraced you in a tight hug. However, even though you wanted nothing more than to hug Lucy until she popped, your body was still in pain and you cried in agony as Lucy squeezed you. She instantly pulled herself away from you and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine." You lied. "It's just…I'm a bit sore from the rope…and I think my arm is broken or something." You said as you lifted said arm into the air so that Lucy could see. And sure enough, your right arm had turned purple and blue from the lack of medical attention. You and Lucy both grimaced at the sight of it, and you dropped it before she could reach out to touch it. But her face immediately brightened up as if she just remembered something.

"Not to worry, Aslan will fix it for you!" she said brightly.

You froze at her words.

"_Aslan…"_ you thought nervously.

And sure enough, through the smoke, appeared the most magnificent looking Lion you had ever seen before. You felt this unconditional love for him the second you saw him. You did not know if it was some power that emanated off of him that caused you to do so, but you realized that the same affect must have happened with the other Pevensies. After all, he was the Mighty Aslan…

You continued to look at him in amazement as he continued to walk forward until he stood right before you. And as he gazed upon you lovingly, you felt the urge to bow. However, you cried out in pain once more as you put weight on your right arm, forgetting that it was still injured.

"Let me see you arm, dear child." Aslan said softly to you. You hesitantly obeyed to him and lifted your arm up in front of him. He then took a deep breath and blew on your arm, the gust of wind causing all your bruises to go away and feeling to finally come back to your arm. You shook it back in forth, both happy and amazed to see and feel that it was completely cured.

"Thank you…Aslan" you said, using this time to bow down to the Great Lion. After a few moments, Aslan nodded to you and spoke.

"You may rise." He said, and you obliged. You looked at him directly in the eyes, and he smiled. "My dear Jade…finally we meet…"

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**Well, there you have it! Chapter 27!**

**So Jade has finally been rescued! Does this meet she will be reunited with Caspian soon? Only I know the answer…so I guess if you want to find out you'll just have to keep reading…**

**But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know it might have been a bit boring but there was very important information in there. I'm not going to give anything away, but I'll say this. If you don't read this chapter then the ending climax of the story is basically ruined because you need to understand the information in this chapter to keep up with the rest of the story. So…hopefully you all read it…**

**And also, on Wednesday I will be going down the beach until Saturday, so the next chapter will be up before then and the chapter after that will be up sometime during the first week of August. So I'll be sure to write a nice chapter to hold you all off for a week.**

**And I know I say this all the time and you probably want to bang your heads against the wall when I say it but what I really really really need you all to do is…**

**REVIEW!**


	28. Chapter 28: Battle at Aslan's How

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, so I've got a lot to write in a little amount of time. August is almost here and I only have a month left till school! That means I'm gonna have to start writing hardcore so I can finish this before school starts. Which means there will be a chapter either every day or every other day. And then during the winter break/next summer, I plan to write a sequel. Either that, or the sequel will be out during the school year and I'll post like once every two weeks.**

**And for this chapter, I was thinking about writing a Peter's POV…but you all know what happens during that part until Caspian and Susan come back. Nothing really important happens that I would need to explain in depth except for Edmund being hilarious when he snaps Peter's arm back into place. I'll find someplace to add that it. Haha. But yeah…Peter's been a jerk so far so he can find his own POV. Now it's back to all Jade and Caspian POV's, which I'm sure you're all happy about and will start to review some more!**

**Anyways, here is when the battle begins! Some intense, fearless, and (as Caspian would probably say since he's all sexist) manly sword fighting. All leading up to the long awaiting time when…oh, you'll just have to read to find out! I hope you all enjoy!**

**And I would just like to say one more thing! This momentous chapter shall be dedicated to two very special readers/ fellow writers. And they are Twilightmoon416 who has always been a dedicated reader and reviewer and who also recently made me a very nice banner (link is in Chapter 26) and Morning-Sunset would has been reading and reviewing my story like crazy and has also been giving me so much support and inspiration! Thank you both of you and I hope you enjoy this special chapter! It's a long one too!**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 28: Battle at Aslan's How**

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian and Susan were not too far away from the How, and both were in great anticipation to see how Peter was fairing. Thoughts of Lucy and if she was safe as well struck their minds, but they did their best to ignore them and tell themselves that everything would be alright. There was no time to worry about such things when greater problems were about to happen, Caspian would tell himself.

But Susan was not at all able to compose herself. She regretted not telling Lucy about The Serpent. It had caused her to nearly kill Caspian, and she didn't even want to imagine what the thing could do to a helpless little girl…in the depths of the forest…all by herself…

"Caspian…" she said nervously, "what if The Serpent finds Lucy? What if she's in trouble? Maybe…maybe I should go back."

"No. Absolutely not." Caspian said firmly. "We need to get back to the How, you know that."

But Susan was persistent. "But she doesn't know about The Serpent and the potential danger she is in! What if she runs into it before she gets to Aslan? She won't stand a chance…" she said worriedly.

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before running off into the forest without telling her." Caspian pointed out, remembering how Susan had chosen not to tell Lucy about The Serpent right before they were going to leave so that the young girl wouldn't be scared. All in all, it was a poor decision in Caspian's eyes and he probably would have told Lucy himself if Susan had not run off without even giving him a chance to say anything.

"I know, I know. I don't need reminding." Susan said a bit rudely. But Caspian ignored her words; there was no way he was going back.

But the Prince did feel a bit sorry for her. He had never had siblings of his own…hell…he didn't even have a family anymore. But he did know what it was like to want to protect someone at all costs…

"Listen," he said, his voice soothing, "you're worrying too much. Everything's going to be all right. I'm sure Lucy's fine…she probably already found Aslan and they're on their way now. Just relax, Susan."

Susan didn't say a word back, for she was very grateful to have Caspian here to make everything alright. And she knew that Caspian would take her silence as a thank you. And besides…he would probably like it much more if she didn't speak for awhile. Instead, she would calm herself.

But Susan didn't even have time to relax herself, for before she knew it, they were back at the How. Her heart began to race uncontrollably, and her fear for Lucy was now replaced with fear for her two brothers, especially Peter. However, as Caspian rose to the stone arena where the two were supposed to fight, she noted that neither of them were fighting anymore.

Miraz was sitting on the opposite side of the arena, the farthest side from the How, and was being tended to by his Lords. Peter was in the same condition. He was sitting down beside Edmund who was hovering above him and fixing his armor. Peter looked exhausted, but at least he was still alive.

"Perfect timing." said Caspian. "It looks like they're taking a break." And since they wouldn't be disturbing the duel, Caspian saw the opportunity to ride up to Peter while he was catching his breathe.

At the sight of them, Peter's eyes widened and he made an attempt to stand up. However, Edmund put a rough hand on his shoulder and sat him back down. Peter cringed at the force that his brother used to keep him in his seat, and he sent the Just King a very deathly glare.

Susan jumped off the horse at once and ran to her brother's side. "Are you alright?" she asked, putting a light hand on his shoulder as she knelt down to his level.

"Fine. And Lucy?" Peter asked weakly.

"She got through." Susan said. That is…she got through the Telmarine soldiers. But Susan did not think that this was now the time to tell Peter than Lucy and all of Narnia was in grave danger now that The Serpent from the beginning of time was back and causing havoc.

Peter then looked to Caspian, obviously disbelieving that Susan and Lucy did not encounter any trouble on the way.

"With a little help…" Caspian admitted. Peter smiled, glad that he had made sure Caspian went after them.

"Thanks." He said.

"Well you were busy." Caspian fought the urge to smile at the fact that Susan still had not yelled at him or questioned his as to why he followed her. He and Peter would leave that fact alone for now.

"Well, I should go to the archers now." said Susan as she gave her brothers a final worried glance. "Be careful." She hoped those would not be the last words she spoke to Peter. And this time, when Peter went to stand up, Edmund did not stop him. He went to hug Susan, but instantly jerked away from the pain.

"Oh…sorry." Susan said before she ran off.

Peter's eyes followed her sadly as he watched her leave. When she disappeared from sight, he turned his gaze back to Caspian…the one he had been waiting for. He was glad he had made it back in time.

"How's it going?" Caspian asked, now becoming aware of the duel.

"Not so good…" Peter said sadly. "My arm…I think it's dislocated." He said holding up his left arm weakly. Caspian now took the time to look Peter up and down, noting how his armor was all banged up and scratched, and his cheeks were flushed. All in all, he didn't look good.

"You're a mess." Caspian said. Peter snorted at his comment and lowered his injured arm.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically. "Now…how about some advice?"

"Well, first you need to fix your arm." Caspian said. He was about to do so, but Edmund beat him to it.

"I'll handle that." Said Edmund, a bit too happily. Apparently the young boy wanted the pleasure of helping/hurting his older brother by relocating his arm. Peter held up his arm in disgust, appalled by his own condition.

"You're right…I am a mess." He said, depressed. Caspian and Edmund rolled their eyes as Peter continued to be dramatic. "I wonder what happens back home when you die here. "You know, Caspian. I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot when we met. You're really not half bad. And neither is Jade…do me a favor and tell her that I'm sorry for being rude to her. And as for you, Edmund…you were always a great brother. I'm sorry I always took you for granted and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive- OW" And that's when Edmund snapped Peter, and his arm, back into place and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Save it for later." Edmund said bluntly, cutting short the High King's "final speech". Caspian fought the urge to laugh…he needed to be serious and help Peter out. The poor guy was probably a mess on the inside as well.

"I'm touched by your words…really." Caspian said sarcastically. "But Edmund's right…snap out of it. You must not lose this duel."

"Right…no pressure or anything…" Peter said. Caspian had to urge to remind him that it was in fact his idea that he go up against Miraz, but he kept his mouth shut. He had no intention of provoking him. "How does he look to you?" Peter asked Caspian, referring to Miraz.

Caspian looked up to the Telmarine's side of the arena. Miraz was sitting on a throne-like chair and was surrounded by all his Lords who clustering around his bruised form. Thankfully, he looked as much of a mess as Peter was. Caspian then watched as his General Glozelle knelt down to die a bandage around his bleed knee. The Prince strained his eyesight to see that the cut was by no means small. It was a huge gash. This caught his attention as he remembered a very important fact about Miraz. He turned back to Peter.

"You injured his knee?" Caspian asked.

Peter nodded. "With my sword." He replied.

"Good. Keep going at it then." said Caspian.

"Keep going at what?" Peter asked.

"His knee." said Caspian. Peter looked at him with confusion, so Caspian explained in depth. "Miraz may be strong, tricky, and mirthless…but he's about as good at taking a hit as Lucy is. No offense."

"None taken." Peter said. "That would explain why he asked to take a break right after I got him there." Caspian nodded in agreement.

"Yes…he has never been one to take pain well. He may try to look intimidating, but don't let his appearance fool you. I am certain that if you give that knee one good blow, he will surely fall." Caspian said. He was happy to see that his words brought back the confidence in Peter's spirit.

Peter stood up straight, his head held high like the noble King he was. Edmund fixed and rearranged his armor, and then handed him back his sword.

"Thanks, Caspian." Peter said. Caspian gave him a nod and patted him on the back. Peter leaned forward a bit and cringed at Caspian's force.

"No problem. Just don't lose." said Caspian.

"I won't." he said as he tried to regain his balance.

Edmund looked back at the Narnians, all who were looking upon their beloved King with worry. Hope must not be lost.

"Just wave and smile." said Edmund. And before Peter walked back into the arena where a very impatient Miraz was waiting, he turned back to the Narnians and gave them the widest, fakest smile he could muster while holding his sword high in the air. A thundering cheer erupted from the crowd as they watched their King turn back around and march back into the arena.

"Good luck." Caspian said.

"He's gonna need it." Edmund said once his brother was out of earshot.

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**Jade's POV**

"My dear, Jade…finally we meet…" Aslan said. You stared at him bewildered. What was he talking about? Did he know you from somewhere…had he been looking for you? But most importantly…had he been the one who brought you here from…that other place you had been at? Was he the reason you had found Narnia?

"Sorry to keep you waiting?" You said, unsure of how you were supposed to respond. Aslan chuckled at your comment.

"No need to be sorry…I have only been waiting for 1300 years." He said so nonchalantly. You and Lucy's jaws dropped.

"1300 years?!" you nearly screamed.

"But Aslan…that's around the time when we left Narnia!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Indeed it is. Now that Jade is in our presence, I will explain everything to the both of you." Aslan said. "You see, Lucy. When you and your brothers and sister left Narnia, all the creatures were devastated. The Narnians grieved for years, for not long after you left, the Telmarines invaded. That was the final straw for them. What the Narnians wanted most was for a way to close off all doors to Narnia, that way, no precious King or Queen could leave them and no Telmarine could come and bring them harm."

"But why would they want to do that?" Lucy shrieked. "That way we could never come back!"

"You don't understand, little one." Aslan explained. "They thought you and your siblings had abandoned Narnia. They were only trying to protect themselves."

"Oh…" said Lucy. "Well then where have you been all this time? You say you have been waiting for Jade to come, but she came here a long time ago."

"That, I'm afraid, I cannot tell you. What I can say is that I was well aware of Jade's presence here." Aslan said, but Lucy did not object. Aslan was always kept his whereabouts confidential. "But as I told you before, things never happen the same way twice. Rather than you waiting for me, it was I who was waiting for you to come and ask me for help. I was wondering how long it would be until you came. But you're here now, and that's all that matters."

"But then…why did you bring Jade here to Narnia?" Lucy continued to ask. Aslan paused, as if choosing his words wisely as not to give away too much information.

You didn't voice your objection out loud, but you found it very annoying that Lucy and Aslan were talking about you while you stood right in front of them. Didn't you have a say in on anything? Shouldn't you be the one asking all the questions and demanding the reason why you were here?

"You ask too many questions, dear one. And I had no part in bringing Jade here to Narnia." He said as his eyes traveled to you. You shifted uncomfortably under his hard gaze. Lucy looked as if she didn't believe him, but before she could ask who brought you hear, he answered. "She was brought here by…other forces."

"Well then _what_ exactly am I doing here?" You rudely blurted. You weren't at all mad that you were here now; you were just getting tired of Lucy asking all the questions. You wanted some answers for yourself. "I've nearly been killed half a dozen times…I've been a prisoner for the last God knows how many days…and I can't remember a single thing from before I came here. Please Aslan…tell me what's going on. What am I doing here?" you asked desperately.

Aslan looked almost hesitant to tell you the truth. But as you looked him so desperately in the eyes, he couldn't resist.

"It has been foretold…that you will be the one who closes the doors." He said.

"Doors? What doors?" Lucy asked.

Aslan seemed ignore Lucy's questions and continued to stare at you. It was as if he knew that you knew what he was talking about. And even though you didn't have all the facts straight, you were able to piece together what he meant. So it was you who was the one who answered Lucy.

"All doors to Narnia…" you said, recalling a certain story you were told not too long ago.

_Narnia would finally be ruled_

_By a King and Queen who fell in love._

_And if the day were to ever come_

_All doors to Narnia would finally be shut_

_And the forest and all the lands would never be seen_

_By outsiders again._

Lucy looked at you a bit appalled, since she was never really happy about the idea of all the doors being closed to Narnia so that she could never return. She looked at you as if you had just been an ally who turned to the dark side. You did not like the look she was giving you very much. You felt as if you were betraying her and the other Pevensies somehow…like robbing them from the place they called home. You wanted to apologize to Lucy…tell her that you didn't even want this responsibility for yourself…that you were not ready to do so…but you could not.

You could not find your voice.

"But why does it have to be Jade?" Lucy asked, almost wishing that it could be someone else who was meant for the duty so that she would feel no regret in despising the stranger. Because even though she was still shocked that Jade would be the one to cut her off to her home, she could never find it in heart to hate the girl who she now considered one of her sisters.

"I do not know. She was chosen for some reason. As I said before, I did not bring Jade to Narnia. I merely told to look for her and make sure no harm came to her…for she is the hope that Narnia has been waiting for." said Aslan. "And do not be sad, little one. There are many other magical ways to get to Narnia. If you are needed…I daresay that you will find yourself here in no time."

At this comment, Lucy seemed to be reassured. That was true…there was always magic. Maybe closing off the doorways only meant that no one could leave or enter Narnia accidentally…like her and her siblings had done many years ago…

"But…how is Jade supposed to do that?" Lucy asked.

Aslan chuckled. "Again with the many questions! I'm sorry, my dear. I'd love to answer every single question you have in store for me, but I do believe we are cut short for time." He said. "And besides…I think once this war is over…you should be asking Jade that question. For now, we must leave."

You were very grateful that Aslan did not share that piece of information with Lucy. You did not want her to find out…seeing as you were still having trouble letting it fully sink in through your system. For a split second, you had even wished Aslan did not tell you, for now your mind was plagued with uncertainties and questions.

However, you did not want to ask any of the questions that were now haunting you…for you didn't think you wanted to know the answer. You feared the truth.

"_Well…at least I don't have to marry Miraz." _You thought, trying to ease your senses with humor. _"But…I don't think I'm ready to marry at all…this all just isn't fair! I still have no idea how I got here and suddenly I'm the hope Narnia has been waiting for? What do they expect me to do? Don't I have a say in on anything?!"_

"Forgive me for not telling you sooner, Jade." Aslan said, as if he could read your thoughts. But you were not mad at him, for it was your own fault for not finding out sooner. You were the one that was supposed to go to him…

"Are you alright, Jade?" Lucy asked, noticing your discomfort as well. But you did not respond to her…of course you were not alright.

And then, without you noticing Aslan blew on you once more with his cool and refreshing breathe. This time, his wind felt like fresh sea air…and you smiled. The breeze seemed to take all your worries and current thoughts and carry them away with the current. Your mind was rid of all the recent words you had just heard, and it felt as if a weight was lifted off your shoulders. Not to say that the thoughts left your mind permanently, but rather they were stowed away in your subconscious for the time being. You would worry later…

The only downside would be once those thoughts eventually came back around, you would have someone to take them out on…

You looked down to Lucy to see that she was smiling too. And when your eyes locked, you both giggle for no apparent reason. Aslan smiled down at the both of you at his work well done.

"Well then, now that's a lot better. And I do believe that your friends have been asleep long enough." He said as he gazed around the trees. Lucy's eyes widened with excitement, apparently aware of what he meant. However, you had no idea what he was talking about.

And just as the thought crossed your mind, The Great Lion let out his might roar, causing the trees, grounds, and mountains to ripple with life. But you did not shudder from the sound, for you were too lightheaded and joyful to be scared.

"Now…" Aslan said turning to the two of you, "…we must go and save Narnia."

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**Caspian's POV **

Caspian smiled when he saw it. He was very proud of Peter, and glad that he had taken his advice.

Not too long after the two men had begun to battle again, it had gotten much more brutal and bloody. Swords and shields lay on the ground as the two fighters had resorted to kicking and punching instead, hitting their opponent any way they could. And that was when Peter had found his opening.

Caspian had actually thought that it was going to be the end for Peter, because Miraz had knocked him down to the ground and was slashing at him with his sword violently. He was sure that Peter had lost. The odds were way against him, but the High King had managed to ram his first into Miraz's knee.

Caspian, along with the rest of the Narnians, had clapped and cheered with joy as they watched Miraz fall to the ground in pain, his hands held up in defeat.

Peter turned back to the roaring crowd, smiling and holding up his arm in victory. He looked towards Caspian and nodded his head in thanks, and Caspian nodded back in approval at Peter's fight.

But as expected, Miraz was not one to play fair. As Peter's back was turned, Caspian watched as his Uncle lifted himself up and began to charge at Peter with his sword while the young King was not looking.

"Peter! Look out!" Edmund called above the noise. And with his quick reflexes, Peter was able to turn around just in time to block Miraz's attack and counter it. He ripped the sword out of his grasp and kicked him back down on the ground. The sword was now pointed directly at Miraz's neck. Peter stood in that position for a few minutes, unsure if he should play out his next move.

"What's the matter boy?" Miraz taunted. "Too cowardly to take a life?"

"It's not mine to take." Peter growled. He turned towards Caspian and handed his friend the sword. Caspian took it hesitantly, and then took Peter's place in front of his uncle.

"I was wrong about you, Caspian. Maybe you do have what it makes to be a King." Miraz said.

And as Caspian looked down at him, he couldn't help the feelings of hatred and disdain that were flowing through his veins. How _dare_ Miraz choose now to complement him. That man who killed his father…destroyed his childhood…tried to kill him…and even tried to kill Jade…how dare this man think for a second that he could sweet talk his way out of his death.

Caspian wanted nothing more in the world to ram his sword right into the crook of Miraz's neck, but he could not. He was not scared, or cowardly as Miraz said, but he simply could not. Killing Miraz would not bring his father back…and it certainly would not make him feel any better about himself at all. He did not want his uncle's blood on his hands…it would make him feel to much like…well…his uncle. And that was not the path Caspian wanted to choose for himself.

The young Prince watched as his uncle closed his eyes in acceptance, preparing to be struck. But Caspian would do no such thing. Thinking quickly, Caspian let out his famous battle cry and plunged the sword into a patch of grass in front of his Uncle. Miraz looked up to him in shock, surprised that he had not taken the opportunity that he had always longed for.

"Not one like you." Caspian spat. And as he walked back to Peter and Edmund, he thought about how proud his father and mother would be of him right now. But then, something happened that he did not expect.

"Treason! They have killed our King!" he heard Lord Sopespian yell from behind. Caspian quickly turned back around and saw a red flared Narnian arrow in Miraz's side. He looked upon his dead uncle indifferently, more concerned with what brought about this series of events. He looked up at the archers to see them all looking around confused, and Susan shook her head in his direction indicating that it was not them who had fired the arrow.

"Assemble the troops! This means war!" the General Glozelle yelled as he and his men retreated back to their army.

So that was it. All those ruddy Telmarines wanted was an excuse to start a war against the Narnians, even if it meant killing their own King.

"_How pathetic…" _Caspian thought. _"If this is how they treat their own King, who knows what could be happening to-" _

"Caspian!" Peter called above all the fussing Narnians. "To your post!" he said referring to Caspian's post in the underground caverns of the How.

Not wasting any more time, Caspian clambered onto his horse at once and rode off to his station. That was the big twist in the plan, the underground caverns of Aslan's How. You see, while Caspian and the Pevensies were inspecting the How the day they met, they nearly got lost in all the pathways and caves that were located much deeper in the How. During their inspecting, Susan was able to calculate that the caverns went on for about 400 meters (one lap around a running track she had said.) And the catch was that those caverns were barely underground at all- in fact, the earth that supported the ceiling of the caves wasn't even 10 feet deep. Caspian had been amazed that it was able to stand up so long considering how old it could possibly be, but then again, it was in fact being held up by very sturdy posts every 2 or 3 feet that were made of hard earth. And if said posts were ever to be broken down…well…Caspian could only imagine the outcome… and it wouldn't be a happy ending for the Telmarines.

Caspian led his horse through the entrance of the How, grabbing a flaming torch from the wall as he went. When he entered the underground caverns, he saw his portion of the army to command…all waiting in anticipation with their clubs and armor at hand. Caspian rode up to the front and held the torch high above his head.

"Narnians!" he yelled as he rode back in forth in front of the before positioning himself in the lead. "Charge!" And with that, all different kinds of battle cries erupted from the Narnians as they followed Caspian's lead, smashing ever post with their clubs that came in their way.

And when they had made it to the far end of the cavern and came back up above ground through the trapdoor they had made, Caspian surveyed the damage they had done. Their plan had worked, for all the soldiers who had been at the front portion of the army had fallen into their trap. Most of them looked like they were trapped and crushed under large clumps of dirt, while the others struggled to escape from the deep ditch. However, those unfortunate soldiers eventually met there doom as a round of arrows came from the archers.

Caspian abandoned his horse and immediately joined into the fighting. He led his band of Narnians to the rear of the ditch where they attacked the other Telmarines from, trapping those who were still alive once more. This war would be fought for his father…for his mother…and for Jade.

……………………………………………………………………

The battle raged on, but Caspian noted that things were not going well at all for the Narnians. It was true that they had taken out a large amount of troops with their underground cavern plan, but it wasn't much in comparison to their whole army. No matter what plan they could have possibly thought of, nothing would be able to make up for how badly outnumbered they were.

Plus, not only did the Telmarines outweigh them in numbers, but in weapons too. Caspian found himself not only dodging swords and spears, but enormous rocks from the catapults as well. No matter how sharp a sword may be, it was nothing compared to the damage a fifty pound rock would do. Caspian hated to admit it, but it didn't look like the Narnians would be able to win this war.

"_We must retreat back to the How…at this rate, there will be no survivors."_ Caspian thought.

Peter seemed to notice this too, for exactly when the though crossed Caspian's mind, he called for the Narnians to retreat.

"Fall back!" his voice boomed. Caspian did not need telling twice, he followed Peter's orders right at once. He took out a few more Telmarines as he ran back to the How and met up with the two Pevensie brothers who had been waiting for them.

But just as he reached them, he felt the strong gust of wind from a catapulted rock soaring over his head. He, Peter, and Edmund ducked, not wanting to come in its way. They watched helplessly as it crashed into upper area of the How, missing Susan and her band of archers by a mere few feet. The impact of the boulder almost caused her to fall off the edge of the How, but luckily she managed to grab a hold of a ledge so that she would not fall to the ground and be crushed by the falling fragments of the How.

Instead, those falling fragments of the How crushed a young fawn and a Minotaur who were retreating into the haven. Caspian continued to watch in horror as the entrance to the How was eventually completely blocked off.

"Oh no…" said Edmund, as they watched their only hope for survival fade away. Now there was no where they could run…there was nothing to protect them from the Telmarine army. The only thing they could do was continue fighting…even if it would probably lead to their death. The Telmarine army would take out their numbers in no time…

But Caspian did not fear death…not if it was something he had to do. And as the rightful King of Narnia, this was indeed something he had to do. He would not sit around and mope now that the How had been blocked off, and he most certainly would not surrender to those foul Telmarines. No…he would fight until he could no longer feel the beating of his heart, and he would do it with honor.

He would not die a coward.

And as he and the three Pevensie warriors charged right back into the mess of creatures, armor, and dead bodies, Caspian couldn't think of a better way to die than by protecting the people who were most important to him…even if they weren't here to see it.

"_Jade…I'm so sorry…"_ he said to her in his mind, fearing that he would never get to see her beautiful face again. There were so many things he would be leaving undone; so many things he had wanted to tell her that were going to be left unsaid. But he had hoped that she already knew by now. _"…I've wanted to tell you how I feel for so long…but it was never the right time…wars are always unpredictable, and this is exactly why I feared telling you how much I care about you. Because now, I daresay that these may be the last thoughts that linger in my mind. I doubt I will survive this battle…and I am both relieved and distressed that I was never able to tell you how I feel. This way…you will not mourn my death as badly, but then again, now I will never be able to tell you to your face how much I love you."_

And as Caspian fought on, he couldn't suppress the image in his mind of Jade crying over his dead body. The image was so clear and familiar that Caspian could have sworn that he had imagined something very similar before.

"_I understand, Jade," said the Professor, "But picture yourself as Venus. You were madly in love with someone, and all of a sudden, they died, leaving you alone in the world._

"_Well, it does seem a bit…horrid. I mean, Venus loses the love of her life. It is in a way…depressing." Caspian said, remembering his lesson with his Professor when he told him that the planet Venus was on its orbit and it directly coincided with Jade's mysterious appearance. He couldn't help but picture Jade as Venus, totally distraught and depressed over his death._

Caspian couldn't help but smile at the memory as a bittersweet feeling coursed through his veins. It was like he had finally solved the mystery…but there was no one around to share it with.

"_One decision could possible change the fate of Narnia forever."_

And when Caspian found himself being knocked into his own trap, he welcomed death with open arms. He felt himself crash into the hard earth, his back taking the full impact of the fall. He felt his sword loosen from his grasp, and watched it fly from his fingers as his elbow hit the ground at an unnatural angle.

And as his eyes lifted upwards to see what was casting a shadow over his fallen form, he saw his old comrade standing before him with a spear pointed at his chest. Caspian looked at Glozelle with anxious and nervous eyes, wondering if this was actually how he was going to die. The General looked a bit unsure of himself once he saw that the man he was about to kill was Caspian, and he lowered his spear.

But Caspian could not predict what happened next. Suddenly, a tree root sprung out of the ground and knocked out the General, leaving him a heap in the dirt. Caspian then looked all around him to see that tree roots were plunging out everywhere, taking out any Telmarine that came in their path.

And then a hand appeared in front of Caspian out of no where. He looked up to its owner to see Peter's smiling face. Curious as to what was going on, Caspian latched his hand onto Peter's and allowed the High King to pull him out of the ditch. And once he was back above ground, Caspian was wide eyed in amazement. The trees…they were alive! And what was more was that they were fighting alongside the Narnians, breaking down the catapults and taking out ten men with a single swing of their roots. It was truly the most amazing thing Caspian had ever seen.

"Lucy…" he heard Peter mumble. He signed in relief…so she had gotten to Aslan safely after all. Now that Aslan was back and on their side, there was no way they would lose.

"Retreat! To the river!" he heard Lord Sopespian yell. "We can still defeat them if we lead them to the river!" Caspian had the urge to laugh. Did they really think they could win at this rate? It was true that the trees would not be able to reach them once they were at the river, but Caspian's spirit was filled with so much confidence and adrenaline that he did not care. The Narnians would defeat them at all costs, seeing as now their troops were about even (that is…thanks to the trees).

The other Narnians seemed to have the same thought in mind, for they chased after the retreating Telmarine soldiers. And Caspian chased after them as well with Susan, Peter, and Edmund alongside him.

When they had reached the river, the Telmarines were trying to get to the other side as quickly as possible. The ones on horses were making their way across the bridge that they had built, with Lord Sopespian at the front, while the others restored to swimming. But they weren't even halfway across the bridge when something caught their eyes that caused them to stop into their tracks.

Caspian peered over to the other end of the bridge to see the small form of Lucy. She was merely standing there, her head held high and she brandished her small dagger with a smile. She almost looked like she was enjoying herself.

The Telmarines seemed to stare at her in disbelief for awhile, wondering why a little girl with and even smaller dagger was blocking their way. But she was more of a threat than she seemed. For only a second later, she was reunited with her two companions.

The one who caught Caspian's eyes first was the most magnificent looking Lion he had ever seen. He knew instantly than it must be Aslan, and he was honored to finally have the pleasure of meeting him. However, he was quickly brought back out of his thoughts as the Mighty Aslan let out an earth shaking roar, causing the Telmarines to shiver with fear. And as Caspian continued to gaze in astonishment of Aslan, he noticed the delicate hand that had reached out to pet the Great Lion's mane.

His eyes slowly shifted their gaze to the owner of the hand, and what he saw before him made his heart pump with exhilaration.

The girl smiled as she finished stroking Aslan's mane, her hand retreating back to its side. Her hair was still as black and long as ever, and she was still wearing that old pale fighting gown that was now dirtied with blood, sweat, and soil. There were dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not had a good sleep in a long while, and bruises covered the few areas of skin that her dress exposed. But to Caspian, she still looked as beautiful as ever…more now than ever.

And then she turned her gaze to him as well, their eyes instantly locking with one another's. The smile that had been lingering on her face widened drastically at the sight of him, and Caspian fought the urge to run up to her and do things that he would probably regret later.

All the while, the Sea came to life…the Telmarines where eliminated with ease…and the Narnians won the war.

But Caspian took no notice to this…nothing else in the world seemed to matter expect that Jade was only a river away. All he could do was stare into the eyes of the one person he had been waiting for so long to finally see.

……………………………………………………………………

**Well it's about time! Aww…Caspian and Jade are finally reunited! And you also get a nice little cliffhanger to go along with it!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I worked really hard on making it relate the movie and I tried really hard to catch all the quickly changing emotions of the characters. I hope I did a good job!**

**I will try to get the next chapter out before I leave on Tuesday, but I'm not making any promises. So don't hate me if you have to wait a week to see the heartfelt reunion…:sigh:**

**Anyways, that's all I really have to say. Like I said, I worked really really hard and long on this chapter and I would be very grateful if you all would review and give me some input on how the story is going. And not just positive criticism, negative reviews are accepted as well. For all those critiques out there, don't be afraid to tell me if I made a mistake or if I forgot something. Don't be shy!**

**But really, reviews have been down lately and I can only hope that it's because of the lack of Caspian and Jade togetherness. But they're back together now so you can stop hating me!**

**BYE**


	29. Chapter 29: Rushing Waves of Emotion

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**So first of all, I just want to say that I am SO SORRY for not updating asap. When I got back from my vacation my computer had this virus (and still does) that wouldn't let me log onto my account. It was really frustrating, seeing as I'm trying so hard to finish this story by the end of summer. Plus, I've been working, getting ready for college, and dealing with my annoying family…and my story still has another plot twist up ahead! So it's very stressful with everything that has been going on…but I'm back now and ready to write!**

**And just in case I don't happen to finish my story by the end of the summer, don't worry! I will most definitely continue it during college and during Thanksgiving/Christmas break. And then comes the sequel! So don't think I'm gonna leave you guys hanging, I will finish the story as promised!**

**And one last thing…I'm leaving for the shore today for a week but I'm bringing my laptop with me, so I will either be updating or just catching up with my writing so that I have a lot of updates for you when I come back!**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 29: Rushing Waves of Emotion**

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**Jade's POV **

That giggly, carefree feeling in the pit of your stomach nearly doubled when Caspian smiled at you. That smile…how you had missed it. But even though he was smiling so broadly, he couldn't possibly be happier than you were at this moment.

Seeing his smile was like the signal to your freedom. Even though Aslan and Lucy had already rescued you from the Telmarine camp, you still didn't feel free. But now…as you gazed out at all your Narnian friends in the battle gear, at the three other Pevensies who were smiling upon seeing you as well, and at Caspian's shining face… you finally felt home.

And your eyes never left Caspian's. You were so happy to see him…more happy than you had ever been in your life. He looked exactly the same. He still had the same long, brown hair…dark eyes…perfect features…and dazzling smile. Nothing about him had changed, and you preferred it that way.

But then, much to your displeasure, a humongous wave sprung up right in front of you, blocking your view from your family and beloved Caspian. You gasped in fear and took a few steps back. You knew that Aslan would not allow for the wave to harm you, but the height and power of it made you feel so small. And as you watched it crash into all the Telmarine soldiers, you realized how lucky you were that you were on Aslan's side. You would definitely not want to get caught into that current.

The wave continued to tower over you, spraying you with little bits of water. You couldn't help but feel as if the water resembled a person…it felt as if the wave was alive. You strained your eyes, trying to get a look at what was happening on the other side of the body of water. It was becoming hard to see even Aslan and Lucy who were supposed to be right behind you, and you were starting to feel a little nervous. Plus, instead of getting lost in Caspian's eyes, you now found yourself getting lost in the ripples of the water.

Your heart race then began to quicken. It may have just been your imagination playing off of your nerves, but you could have sworn that the waves and waters were completely surrounding you. You spun around, quickly looking back and forth, left and right. But every which way you turned there was water. You didn't like this…you felt very uneasy. But then again, it wasn't like you were any real danger. I mean…Aslan would let you drown…would he?

Of course not…you were on his side. And it wasn't like the waves looked like they would come crashing down on you. It was more like they were surrounding you… encompassing you. You felt like you were in the middle of a whirlpool.

"_Maybe this is Aslan's idea of protecting me?" _you thought confusedly, wondering why the spinning walls of water would not recede.

And you also felt very much alone. Even though it had not even been a minute, you didn't like the feeling of being encased in a space where you could neither hear nor see what was going on from the other side.

"Aslan!" you called frantically. "Aslan! Lucy!"

But nothing happened. No one called back. You didn't hear or see anything. The waves just continued to swirl around you like a tornado. All you could do was stand in place, while you waited for something to happen. However, even though you were confused and slightly afraid of the rising mass of water, you couldn't help but gaze above at the rippling waves in amazement. They rose to about 30 feet over your head, and you could still see the opening at the top which gave you a view of the clear blue sky.

You then gazed back at the inside of the swirling whirlpool. It was quite beautiful when the sun appeared through the opening at the top. When the sunlight glistened on the quickly moving waves, the clear water sparkled like diamonds… and you were reminded of the many stars of Narnia that came out in the night.

"_You should see Narnia during the night, with all the stars."_

And that's when you saw it. The dark and blurred mass that was hardly visible through the thick walls of water. You breathed a sign of relief…it looked like someone…or something was coming towards you. Even though the rushing waves made it very difficult to make out the object entirely, you still felt as if it was coming nearer with every passing second.

"Aslan!" you called out again. Surely, it must be him. "Aslan! Is it over?"

But again, no one responded. However, the object still seemed to be getting closer. Maybe they just couldn't hear you, or it was you who could not hear them. Either way, you would soon be reunited with your dear friends and Narnians. You wanted nothing more than to see them right now.

And at that moment, your wish came true.

Not a second later, a figure burst through the rushing wall of water. Drenched from head to toe in water, the man before you bent over in exhaustion. After all, he had probably been running through the thick water like a madman to find you. Parts of his armor were missing, most likely discarded for being a burden to wear in the water. His long brown hair looked like a wet mop as he leaned on his knees, allowing his hair to drip onto your bare and dirty feet. And you were sure that his heavy breathing and panting could be heard from miles away.

But at last, he lifted his head up to you. His dripping wet clung to the side of his face. The armor over his chest was removed, so all that remained was the thin white shirt that he wore to sleep. The light material stuck to his body, and you were able to see the imprints of the muscles on his chest.

You remembered that time he had come into your room clad in nothing but a bath towel, and you couldn't help but think that this moment beat that other one by a long shot. And as you stared into his eyes that were party covered by his hair, you were speechless before him.

"Jade…" he whispered to you as he brought you into a tight embrace. His one arm circled around your tiny waist, while the other grabbed a handful of your hair. You returned the gesture with more force, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing into him so that you could feel the cool water against your body. His dripping hair leaked onto your neck, allowing droplets of water to run down your back. Being so close to him felt amazing.

"Jade…" he whispered again. "It's really you…" he said, recalling the time when the White Witch Jadis had taken your form to try and tempt him. But you had no idea that this had happened, so you continued to embrace him, thinking that his words were only breathes of relief from finally being able to see you…being able to touch you…and to hold you.

"Caspian…" you said softly. You could feel tears begin to well up in your eyes as memories of you and Caspian together before you got separated in the battle floated through your mind. You were just so happy. This was the moment that you felt like you had been waiting for for your whole life. It was silly, really, seeing as you had only been held hostage for a week or so. But somehow, finally reuniting with Caspian seemed to be the best thing that you could remember happening to you. It was the happiest feeling in the world.

"I missed you so much…" you said. You could feel the tears begin to gather up in front of your eyes, blurring your vision. It was only a matter of time until you let them fall freely.

"Don't even get me started." Caspian said, and you let out a choked laugh.

"Oh, Caspian…" you said again, unable to form the words that you wanted to say. You just liked being able to say his name to him.

He then pulled you out of your hug abruptly, and the sudden gesture made you feel a bit hurt. You could feel your tears on the brim of falling.

He looked at you very sternly, and you didn't think you wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"Don't you _dare_ scare me like that ever again, ok?!" And there they went. The tears that you were trying so desperately to keep in just poured out of your eyes like summer rain. It was impossible to stop them at this point.

"Caspian, please don't be mad at me…I was only trying to help." You said weakly.

"Jade…I could never be mad at you." He said softly, and you had thought that he was done scolding you. But you were wrong. "But I can come pretty damn close to doing so!" he said, raising his voice. "How could you ever put yourself in danger like that? Have you gone mad or something!"

"No! I just…I just wanted…wanted to…" you tried to choke out, but your flowing tears and hiccups made it hard for you to speak. Caspian noticed your discomfort, and began to run his fingers through your hair. But he still continued to scold you with his raised voice.

"_It's for your own good. And mine too. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on our plan if I kept worrying about you." _

"Do you know what it's been like without you?" he said. You felt a pang of guilt in your heart, you never even thought about how much you had possibly hurt him. "Not knowing if you were dead or alive? Not knowing what was happening to you. Not knowing where you were. Questioning if this war for Narnia meant anything to me anymore if it meant that you may not make it through alive."

"_I don't want to lose you."_

"Caspian…I'm so sorry…I never really…"

"Never really what?" he asked hotly. "Never really thought any of this would happen? Never really thought you'd be in serious danger just strolling into the middle of a battlefield? Never really thought that there were people who cared about you and would miss you more than anything in the world? Never really thought that I would lose sleep from dreaming about you every single night?"

"_Promise me…promise me you won't set foot out of this room."_

"And worst of all…you lied to me." He said in a very hurtful tone. "You lied to me, Jade. You promised me…"

"I know!" you shouted, your voice getting lost in the gurgling water that still surrounded the two of you. "I know! But I was only trying to help you!"

"_But anyways…if anything were to happen…I just want you to know that…I…I just want you to know…that I…that you're very important to me…"_

"We didn't need help!" he shouted back.

"Yes you did!" you yelled. "Lucy said something bad was going to happen! I just wanted to keep you safe!"

Caspian threw his hands up in exasperation. "Well then Lucy was right! Something bad did happen…to you!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?!" you defended.

"You weren't! You weren't supposed to know anything! If it were up to me, you wouldn't even be able to come into the meetings! That way, you wouldn't know what was going on so that you wouldn't go off doing something stupid!" he words stung you a bit, but you continued to shout at his like his hurtful words didn't affect you at all.

"Oh, alright! So trying to protect you is stupid?" you said sarcastically.

"Yes! Because we didn't need your help in the first place and you should have known that. You should have listened to me and stayed in the How!"

"So let me get this straight." You said, lowering your voice a bit. "You expect me to just stay put after hearing that something bad is going to happen?"

"Yes!" Caspian shouted.

"Oh, really? And what would you have done, Caspian? Would you have stayed in your safe little hiding place…twiddling your thumbs after hearing that someone you care about is in danger?" you challenged him.

By this point, his face was either flustered red from all the yelling and anger, or maybe it was because you finally got him and he was flustered from embarrassment.

"No, I wouldn't. But I wouldn't have done something stupid." He said, and it didn't sound convincing in the least. However, you were still mad at the fact that he was still referring to what you did as stupid.

"It was not stupid!" you yelled.

"Yes it was! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Would you stop saying that!?" you screamed out furiously. "I can't stand it when you say that! I knew what I was doing! I knew what I was getting myself into! I knew the consequences. And it was not stupid! I was willing to risk my life for you! I was only trying to help you because I love you!"

You immediately pulled your hands to your face, covering your mouth and scolding your brain for saying that out loud. You felt like sticking your head into the rushing waters so that anymore of your thoughts that you might mindlessly blurt out would be caught and carried away by the rushing current, unheard by anyone.

By all means, you did not regret what you said…you meant them with all your heart. However, you always pictured yourself saying those special words to someone in a much more…romantic and appropriate setting. Yelling them out in anger wasn't exactly the romantic setting you had in mind.

"_Caspian…I-"_

"_CASPIAN! It's now or never!" you heard Peter boom from the other room. He instantly pulled himself off you once more, leaving both of your bodies cold and incomplete._

"_I have to go." He said as he quickly pressing a kiss to your forehead. He was about to turn around when you grabbed him back._

"_But wait! Caspian…I-" you were about to say something, but Caspian brought a finger to your lips, silencing you._

"_Shh…" He cooed. "Tell me when I come back."_

You refused to look back at Caspian after you had just spilled out your heart to him during a stupid fight. It wasn't just embarrassing…it was humiliating. Now he knew your secret, the one thing that you would refuse to say to him unless he said it first. That was just the way it works…the boy usually always says it first, right? He would probably think you were desperate or something now…

And also, how was he supposed to react? Would he keep yelling at you for "being stupid" and say that love didn't matter in the middle of a war. That would probably be the worst case scenario.

Wait, no. Scratch that.

The worst case would be if he told you he didn't love you back.

"_But…he did say that I was very important to him…"_ you thought. And thus begun the conversation in your head between you and…well, you.

"_**That's true, but it still doesn't mean anything. I'm sure Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are all "very important to him" too. How can I know that I'm different?"**_

"_Because he took care of you and protected you when you came here to Narnia from…somewhere else."_

"_**Of course…he had to. He is Prince after all."**_

"_Yeah…but he could have sentenced you to death like his Uncle suggested."_

"_**Caspian would never do that to anyone. He's much too kind and just. He would have spared any old peasant's life."**_

"_Well how about the time he fought Peter to save you. Remember? The day you met the Pevensies."_

"_**Again…he's too kind and just to let an innocent life be taken."**_

"_But he wouldn't let you fight during the raid on the castle. That meant he wanted to keep you especially safe. And don't forget, he had been watching you practice with Susan and Edmund all that day. Remember when told you that?"_

"_**Yeah…and that's exactly the reason he wouldn't let me fight. I was a right mess trying to handle that thing. He probably thought I would kill myself during the raid or something."**_

"_I don't think that's true at all. I think he really does care about you the way you care for him. Didn't you hear how upset he said he was when you were gone? For Aslan's sake, he had dreams about you."_

"_**I was on his conscience. He didn't want someone else's death to be his fault. Nobody wants that." **_

"_Well then why would he kiss you?"_

"_**Out of pity probably." **_

"_Oh, please! If only you could hear how stupid you sound right now."_

"_**Your right…maybe I am stupid. Maybe everything I've done and thought has been stupid thus far."**_

"_That's not true at all."_

"_**Yes it is. I was stupid for thinking he would care about me…I was stupid for thinking that I could actually help Narnia…I was stupid for thinking I could save Caspian from "something bad that was going to happen"…I was stupid for falling in love with Caspian…and I was stupid for thinking that he would love me back."**_

"I love you too, Jade."

"Wha…" you said confusedly, snapping out of your inner thoughts. You heard the words that Caspian said perfectly…but they were sure that you had only heard them in your mind. However…

"Did you say something?" you asked the young Prince, who was now making you nervous with his intent gaze. Then he smiled at you…which made you feel even more uneasy. Hadn't you two been screaming each other's head off at one another just a moment ago?

"Yes…I did." He said, taking a step closer to you. You made to take a step back, but when you felt the quickly moving water on your backside you immediately jumped forward so that you would not get caught in the current. However, now you were even closer to Caspian that before.

This made him laugh, and if you weren't so confused as to what was going on you would have smacked him for mocking you. But instead, you resisted the urge to smack him as he moved closer to where you stood and bent his head to you so that his mouth was right next to your ear.

"What's the matter, Jade?" he asked softly into your ear, causing goose bumps to spring all over your body. The feeling was oddly pleasurable…no boy had ever made you feel this way before.

"What did you say?" you asked in a monotone and serious voice. Caspian pulled his head back up so that both of your eyes were in alignment. His hand reached up to your face and he whipped away the traces of tears. You never realized yourself when your tears had begun or stopped. But you didn't care…all that mattered was the feel of Caspian's warm hand now cupping your cheek.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" he whispered.

"No…" you whispered back. "I was…dreaming…"

"No you weren't." Caspian said lovingly as his smile became broader and even more beautiful. "Jade…I love you."

And at that moment, the words seemed to stop as Caspian brought his face down to your and gently pushed his lips on top of yours. This kiss started out slow and gentle, and it reminded you of the night Caspian left to go to battle.

But this kiss was much different.

This time…you were not on a time limit. There was no place Caspian had to go, no Peter yelling at him to hurry up, no Narnia that needed saving. No…the both of you had all the time in the world to be in each other's arms. And this time…this kiss you shared would mean so much more.

You felt Caspian's arms wrap around you and pull your body to his, and you replied by wrapping your arms around his neck once more. The hand that had been cupping your cheek left your face at once to entangle itself in your locks. But this time, instead of his hand gently caressing through your hair, it felt as if he was now grabbing your hair and pulling on it a bit…making the kiss much more intense.

You had been worried about the first real intimate kiss you would ever have with a boy, seeing as you didn't think you would know what to do and you would be horrible. However, when you felt Caspian's tough smooth over yours, everything seemed to come naturally.

You didn't need air…you didn't need to breathe.

You just continued to cling to Caspian's soaking wet body as he ravished your delicate mouth, kissing you like no one else could. A surge of…a foreign feeling coursed through your veins, causing you to mimic Caspian and grab onto his hair as well, yanking on it a bit as you pushed on the back of his head…trying to make the two of you as close together as humanly possible.

Your other hand grabbed a handful of his shirt, loving the way his lips felt on yours.

He then pulled away for a moment, and you let out a soft whimper…thinking that this amazing moment was over. However, his lips soon found the crane of your neck which he had decided would be their next target. And you couldn't stop the barely audible gasp that escaped from your lips. You didn't know that anything could ever feel this good…you wanted more…

Much more.

Your hand then loosened its grasp on Caspian's shirt, only to creep its way under the thin material. You ran your fingers along his stomach, trying to feel every little bit of him all at once. His chest was hard and firm, every muscle toned to the brink of perfection.

"Jade…" he whispered into your neck as your fingers continued to travel along his chest. At the call of your name, you gave his side a tight squeeze, which made his lips leave your neck and crash back onto your lips.

And the second you felt his lips on yours, you felt your body get pounded by waves and waves of ice cold water. At the feel of the water, the two of you instantly broke apart from your kiss. But inwardly panicked a bit, thinking that you might drown or get caught in the current.

But you knew that you were safe, for Caspian continued to hold you tight as the walls of the whirlpool came crashing down.

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**Ha ha…well there you go all you fluffers out there. Since it took me so long to get this chapter out, I figured I might as well make it worth it :)**

**So yeah…I'm expecting lots and lots of happy reviews! You can't yell at me for this! So ha!**

**And I just want to apologize again for this coming out so late. During this week on vacation, I will continue to write like a madman. And if my house has a wireless internet that I can hook up to, I will definitely update. But if I cant, I'll just keep writing so that I have lots of updates when I get back.**

**So farewell everyone! I leave you with this lovely chapter until next time! Hope you all enjoy! And remember to REVIEW!**


	30. Chapter 30: Back to the Start

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, so here I am at the shore! My house is cool and all but the weather isn't looking too good so I figured I'd write! Right now, I can't get much connection, so this chapter is probably going to come out a bit later after I write it. But don't worry…that just means I have more time to write the next few chapters so that I can finish the story quicker! **

**I figured that this vacation would be a way for me to catch up with my writing, so that I can maybe even finish the story by the time I get back (or maybe a week later). That way I can post each pre-written chapter every week or so…and I won't have to worry about my deadline anymore!**

**But anyways, I really hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I tried my best to make it the reunion that you all dreamed of…and hopefully I nailed it. As for the rest of the story…I'd say at most there are going to be 10 chapters left. That was my goal, at least, to get to about forty chapters. So far, my story is about 300 pages on Word and I'm aiming for around 400. **

**And sorry for all you Reepicheep lovers but I really don't feel like writing the part about how he got his tail cut off. I know it's a little important and all but you know what happens…just imagine that I wrote it!**

**And I don't have really much else to say except I hope that you are enjoying the story so far and get ready for what happens next!**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 30: Back to the Start**

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**Jade's POV **

Caspian held onto you tightly until you could no longer feel the cold water pouring all over your bodies. You clung to him like he was a part of you, like his body could provide for you the warmth that you needed from after being pummeled by the chilling water.

You now found yourself as sopping wet as Caspian had been when he had found you in the middle of the whirlpool. The whole incident seemed so strange to you. It was like the water had a mind of its own and chose to circle around you. And how was Caspian able to find you? Really…it did come off a bit odd to you. But after recalling the series of events that had gone on while you and Caspian were both trapped in privacy, you were thankful that it had been Caspian who had found you…and you were also thankful that no one had seen.

Once you were certain that the crashing waves had come to a halt, you peeled yourself off of Caspian…which actually turned out to be a difficult task since both of your wet clothes were stuck together. You giggled as the both of you took in your absolutely soaking figures, looking around suspiciously to make sure that no more waves would come in your direction.

"Are you alright?" Caspian sincerely asked you.

You gazed up at him, his lips red and cheeks flushed from your kiss. And you suddenly wish that those walls of water would rise and shield the two of you once more so that you could continue.

"Better than ever." You answered the man you loved. It was true…you really did feel better than you thought you could ever feel. You were finally reunited with your friends and the young man whom you had falling in love with just confessed that he had fallen equally as hard for you. Loving Caspian was one thing, but to know that he requited you feelings made your heart soar.

The young Prince, and soon to be King, lifted his hand to pull away the wet stands of hair that were stuck to your face, but the sound of splashing behind you caused Caspian to immediately pull his hand away.

But instead of rough waters and waves coming to life, you saw Susan, Peter, and Edmund all looking relieved that you and Caspian were alright. You also noticed that all the Telmarine soldiers had either drowned from the waves or were now being taken hostage by the victorious Narnians. Looking behind you, you saw Lucy still by Aslan's side. Unlike you, she was clean and dry…apparently she has not been caught in a current such as you had.

When you turned back around to face Caspian, he was no longer there. Instead, he went up to Peter and the others. And much to your surprise…he was shaking hands with Peter.

"_What the…"_ you thought, astonished that they were actually interacting without trying to kill each other. _"When did this all happen? Wow…I guess…even though I wasn't gone that long…a lot of things must have happened while I was away…I wonder what else I missed."_

The two young men exchanged a few words with each other that you could not hear, and then with smiles on both of their faces, Peter handed Caspian back his sword…and the soon to be King gave the old High King a pat on the back. It must have been a touching moment for the two young men, but at the moment, you couldn't seem to get over that they were actually getting along.

And before you could make a move to Caspian and the Pevensies, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your torso. You looked down a bit to see that Lucy had latched onto you from behind. Even though you weren't that tall at all, she was still very young and could not give you a proper hug.

You shifted and turned around in her grasp so that she could lay her head on your chest. You returned her loving gesture, holding onto her like she was your little sister.

"_This feels so…special…and oddly familiar. I wish I had a younger sister of my own…"_ you thought, a bit jealous that Lucy was Susan's younger sister and not yours. She had three siblings…and you had none.

"Jade!" Lucy said. Her voice sounded both worried and excited at the same time. "Where did you go? We thought you had drowned."

"Weren't there waves everywhere?" you asked, trying to confirm your suspicion that the waves had chosen only you to circle around for some reason. After all, the last thing you had seen before the waves had encircled you was that man-like form the water had taken hitting all the Telmarines.

"Well, yeah. But Aslan and I backed away when they got too close to the shore. We called out to you, but you wouldn't budge." She said, her worried frown now turning into a knowing and mischievous smirk. "You must not have been able to hear us while you were stuck in dreamland." She said, hinting to when you and Caspian had locked eyes for the first time.

Her giggle made you feel a bit lighthearted. The feeling inside you still had not left your system, and seeing as you could not think of anything that could possibly ruin this moment, you laughed along with her.

"Oh shut up." You said playfully. "I wasn't gone for too long, was I?"

"Well…yeah, I guess. At least, too long for Caspian." She said, her wry smile still beaming. "When the waves had died down, there was only one whirlpool left. And it was in the exact same spot as you were standing. We were all really worried…" she said, and you could feel her grasp around you tighten.

"Well don't worry…I'm alright now." You said, trying to hide the jolt of nerves that had coursed through your body at the mention that Caspian had gone through the dangerous waters to find you. "I was never in any danger, really. I was fine when Caspian found me. He didn't need to come after me." You said, even though you were very happy that he did. A smile crept to your face as you remembered the events that happened while to two of you were concealed.

Lucy's face then broke into a grimace, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "I don't think I want to know…" she said, not even wanting to think about what you and Caspian had possibly done while alone.

You laughed at her expression…it seemed as if she was getting back into touch with her younger self even though she was technically older than you. "Don't worry…I'll spare you the details."

"What details?" said a familiar voice from behind. You spun around the spot to see Edmund standing behind you, with his two other siblings and Caspian right beside him. He gave you a cheeky grin as your eyes lit up from seeing him again.

"Edmund!" you shrieked wrapping your arms around him. However, this proved to be both difficult and awkward seeing as Lucy refused to let go of your waist. This left your body in an oddly twisted position as you managed to hold onto both of the younger Pevensies at the same time, but you would not dare let them go. You were just so happy to finally be back…and be able to give Edmund a proper hug this time around.

After a very heartfelt hug, Edmund pulled away a bit as to get a better look at you. "You're all wet!" He laughed. In return you shook your long damp hair onto him which made him struggle in your grasp.

"It's good to see you too." You said sarcastically.

"Oh, please. I knew you were going to be alright all along." He said confidently.

"It's true." said Susan as she came up to stand beside Edmund. "We never lost faith in you." she said before embracing you in a tight hug.

To say the least, you were touched. You couldn't have been luckier to meet the Pevensies here in Narnia. You had only known them for about a month and already they considered you a part of your family. You felt special…wanted…needed…better than you could ever remember.

"Thank you…" you said, speechless from all the brotherly and sisterly love you were receiving from your friends. You could find the right words to say how touched you were by their words.

"Oh…we missed you so much!" she cried. Edmund rejoined the two of you in the hug, and Lucy continued to squeeze your waist.

"I missed you all too." You said.

Luckily, you had already cried all your tears out while yelling at Caspian. And you were very grateful too, since you did not really want to break out the water works in front of everyone right now.

When you and Susan pulled away from each other, you noted how her eyes sparkled with tears that were threatening to fall. But like you, she refused to become a mess in front of her family. Instead, she smiled at you like sisters do.

Glancing behind Susan, you noticed that Peter and Caspian were watching you all from the background. Caspian seemed to be happy and satisfied, mostly due to your return and recent confession. However, Peter looked out of place. He had a half smile plastered on his face and was shifting uncomfortably where he stood. It looked as if…he felt like he didn't belong.

"…_And…as a plea for humanity…His Majesty has also requested that you spare the life of any and all prisoners…and he would be forever grateful if you would…"_

You recalled the words of Edmunds speech that day he came and visited you, and your heart instantly went out to the poor King who didn't seem as happy as his siblings were. Of course, there were obviously many reasons for that.

He could…and should…be upset for being such a jerk before and thinking that he could do everything himself. You didn't want to think to highly of yourself, but he might also feel bad for being rude to you before you had gotten captured.

But little did you know, he was actually guilt wear from that night during the raid on the castle when he had knocked Caspian out and refused to let anyone go after you. You, of course, had no idea about that scene where he decided to leave you behind…and never in his life would he, or even Caspian, have the guts to tell you. Little did you know how selfish and inconsiderate he had suddenly felt about that whole situation right after he and Caspian started to get along.

And since you had not been informed about that string of events, you came to the conclusion that he was probably a bit nostalgic and depressed now that Caspian would most definitely take the title of King of Narnia.

The urge to give the poor young man a hug resurged through your kind heart again. You pulled away from Susan and you began in the direction of the sullen teenager. However, before you could take a single step towards him, you heard Aslan clear his throat from behind you.

At the sound of his growl, Lucy ran over to his side. She loved him ever so much, and now that he came back, she did not want to ever leave his side in fear that he might go away again without her noticing.

You turned around, as did Caspian and the other Pevensies as they came up to stand before Aslan beside you. And the next second, they were all kneeling down. It all happened so quickly, you were not sure what was going on or what to do. But after a few moments of dumbly standing around, you knelt down as well with Caspian to your left and Edmund on your right.

You felt heat rise to your cheeks from being in such close proximity to Caspian once more. A tingling on the side of your neck told you that you would probably have a mark the next day.

"Rise…Kings and Queen of Narnia." He purred. You felt Edmund's form beside you lift up, and you heard Susan and Peter stand up as well. However, you and Caspian kept put and did not stand up.

You looked over to Caspian, curious as to why he did not stand up. Now that Miraz was dead and the Telmarines were defeated, he was the rightful heir to the Narnian throne. But still, he did not make a move to stand up. Instead, he just stared down at the ground dejectedly and unwillingly.

"All of you." Aslan softly demanded. You all knew that his statement was directed towards Caspian…even Caspian himself knew that he was being referred to. But at Aslan's words, he merely lifted up his head and spoke.

"I do not think I am ready…" he said sadly. You felt the urge to cry again. Poor Caspian, he was probably under a lot of pressure right now. But it's not like he hadn't been in situations like this before. Why was he choosing now to be all self-conscious and unsure of himself? He looked like he was going to be sick. You wanted to reach out and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, but such an intimate gesture would sure embarrass the both of you.

"And for that reason, I know you are." Aslan said confidently. You smiled; you knew that Aslan believed in Caspian just as much as you did.

The young Prince seemed to reluctantly stand up, but at least he stood up. And when he did, he stood up straight and proud…perfect poster…like a true King. You knew he was probably shaking from nerves on the inside, but he was able to keep his cool in front of Aslan. He really was a born leader.

"You may rise too, Jade." Aslan said. You were relieved, for you were starting to feel a little out of place. And once you stood, Aslan spoke to you all. "My dear friends…old and new…I cannot express my gratitude in words. Thanks to you all…Narnia is a free land once more."

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Being inside the Telmarine's Castle was a bittersweet feeling. As you walked throughout the halls in Caspian's mother's green dress with your long black hair flowing freely behind you, you recalled all the memories you could about your days here in this Castle… both the good and the bad.

This was where it had all began.

Or at least, this was as far back as your memory could go.

You strolled down the halls by your lonesome. It wasn't because you were depressed or anything, you had just wanted some time to think for yourself. It was a bit ironic seeing as yesterday morning, after you had been rescued, you would not dare leave anyone's side in fear of being left alone again.

But right now, you just needed some time to yourself.

Plus, you needed something to do to pass the time while Caspian and the Pevensies got ready for Caspian's crowning ceremony. That's right…Caspian was to be crowned in a few hours. You didn't need much primping to do for the ceremony, nor did you want it like Susan and Lucy did. You were perfectly comfortable with wearing the nice green dress and keeping your hair and make-up simple. So while you waited, you decided to take on the task of exploring the magnificent Castle.

This time, you were able to get a better look of the overall Castle and the lands around it. Not only did you revisit the astronomy tower where you and Caspian gazed at the stars, but you also took a trip to the place along the river where you and Caspian had poured out your stories and hearts to each other…the place where the chemistry between you two had begun.

However, you went to many other places too. You explored certain rooms and places that you were not able to see when you were here for the first time. But that was only because Caspian wanted to keep you protected from his Uncle.

"_And worst of all…you lied to me." He said in a very hurtful tone. "You lied to me, Jade. You promised me…"_

Even though those words Caspian spoke to you yesterday didn't sting as much anymore, they were still at the tip of your conscious. They reminded you of the night where you had escaped from your room here at the Castle to eavesdrop over the conversation that Miraz was having with his General. That was the first time you had broken a promise to Caspian…and it was the first of three.

You had already come to the conclusion, during your time in the prison cell, that every time you did not listen to Caspian or break his promise something drastic seemed to happen. It was quite strange…and a bit annoying. You hated it when the male was always right in the end…

"_Oh…that's right." _You said to yourself, your thoughts shifting from the broken promises you made to your days in captivity. _"I was here while I was being held hostage…"_ you thought, remembering that not all your days here in the Castle were considered good memories. You were too sullen and depressed from being captured that you didn't even take the time to realize that you were in the same place where you had started out. It was an oddly nostalgic feeling as you recalled those days that were long gone.

But that was alright…now you could make new memories here.

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You knew the moment would come when you stumbled upon your old room. It was accidental; really…you had no idea where you were going. The Castle was bigger that in looked from the outside.

You were surprised that you had recognized the hallway and door when you saw it, for to an outsider, every hall and door would probably look the same. But you were able to find it. It almost felt like some kind of force was pushing you in this direction, something wanting you to find the room and go inside it.

Taking a hesitant step forward, you reached out and grasped the doorknob. For some reason, you felt chills creep up in your arms as you pushed the door open and took in your surroundings. The first thing you thought of was the night when you and Caspian escaped. That was the last time you had been in this room…and now you were standing in it again, only this time as a free woman.

It felt good to be able to walk around your old room, and everywhere else, without having to worry about soldiers following you. You circled the room with curiosity, wondering if the guards had gone through anything that night when they were looking through you.

But surprisingly, as you continued to examine the room, everything seemed to be in place. Everything was how it had been before.

"_Well?" asked General Glozelle._

"_There is no sign of her. We can't find her anywhere." The soldier said._

So they had never found your room after all…and even if they had, you were long gone at that point. No wonder everything was still perfectly intact.

And then something caught your eye.

On the bedside chair lay a black sack that did not seem to fit in the room…it looked oddly out of place. You approached it and noted how dirty and worn the thing looked up close. It had two straps on the back with a handle at the top…and it had your name written on it.

But you were positive that you had never seen such a thing before in your life.

You lifted your hand up and reached out to touch the foreign thing that had caught your attention. However, before your fingertips could even brush the thing, you heard a loud bang come from across the room. You instantly pulled your hand back in shock, wind whipping your hair behind your face as you looked over to see what had caused all the noise.

As it turned out, a strong gust of wind burst open the double balcony doors that were on the other side of the room. The two doors had banged into the wall, and you were relieved that nothing threatening or dangerous was going on.

"_Oh yeah…I had a balcony too."_ You recalled.

Wanting to look over Narnia from the beautiful view of your balcony, you ran over to the edge of the railing. You gazed out at the familiar scenery with just as much excitement as you did when you first saw it. And it truly was still just as amazing as it had been before you left.

"I told you so…it never gets old." You heard a low voice say to your left. You immediately spun in the direct of the voice to see Caspian on his own balcony only a few feet away from yours. He was smiling broadly at you, and it looked like he was mildly amused by your excited expression.

"_Enjoying your view? I wake up to it every morning, and still I'm amazed every time. You should see it during the night, with all the stars."_

You smiled back at him. "Yeah…you were right." You said, finding his face more amazing to look at than the land below. "It really is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"I have." Caspian said in his deep, serious voice which caused you to blush. You weren't used to being complemented like that. His eyes narrowed with passion, and you felt your body temperature go up a bit.

You looked back to the scenery in embarrassment, doing whatever you could to avoid Caspian's intent gaze.

"Well…it's all going to be yours soon…" you said, referring to the Kingdom of Narnia that Caspian would soon be inheriting.

You expected him to look like he was going to throw up again, but when you looked back at his face, it didn't seem like he has moved a muscle. He was still gazing at you with the same intensity.

"Let's hope so." He said, which made you feel even more uncomfortable. You couldn't deny the fact that you liked it when he gave subtle hints at how beautiful he thought you were or how he wanted to be with you, but it was unusual to you for someone to care about you so much. Plus, you never really like being the center of attention.

"So…when does the ceremony start?" you asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Very soon." He replied. This made you smile. You were very happy for Caspian and glad that he was finally getting what he rightfully deserved.

"Are you nervous?" you asked.

"Not at all." said Caspian. This surprised you as well. You remembered that time when Caspian had spoken before all the Narnians in that clearing to try and convince them that he was willing to help. That time…he had been terrified. "Not as long as I have you with me."

"_Your hearts racing." You laughed, causing Caspian to smile and laugh with you._

"_That was awful…" he said as he wrapped his arms around your waist and leaned his forehead against yours. You could feel your body temperature rising. "I don't think I could have done that if you weren't there with me." _

"Me?" you asked awkwardly. "What have I got to do with anything?" Caspian chuckled at your confused expression.

"Everything." He said simply, but you still did not understand. "Jade…you're my only hope."

"Pardon?"

"I said, 'you're my only hope.'" He repeated. "This is all so new to me…about to be King of Narnia…ruler over all this land. I must admit, I'm quite lost and overwhelmed at the moment…I'm unsure of how to take in all these responsibilities." He then stared into your eyes lovingly. "You're the only hope I have that everything will be alright eventually. Even if I don't believe in myself, you do. I don't think I can do this all on my own…but I know that you think I can. And for that reason, I have hope and faith in myself. Thank you…"

"But I didn't do anything…" you said innocently. You didn't know where his words were coming from.

"But you have." he argued. "Even if you don't know it, you have. You just don't know…" he said trailing off, his eyes now fixated on the unknown.

You were speechless once more at his touching words. You wanted to reach out and hold him…kiss him. But he was out of your reach.

"Well then…I guess…your welcome…" you said, even though you still weren't sure what he was thanking you for.

A sudden banging on Caspian's door pulled you both out of your deep thoughts.

"Caspian!" yelled a distant voice from the other side of the door. "Caspian! Are you ready?!"

"In a minute!" Caspian yelled back.

You were about to turn away to your door to leave, but Caspian's voice stopped you before you disappeared into your room.

"Wait! Jade! Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to go down with the Narnians and villagers so that I can watch the ceremony." You said.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. "Aren't you going to come with me?"

"Well…no. I'm not a King or Queen of Narnia…nor have I ever been." You said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It wouldn't be right if I rode through the town with you and the Pevensies."

"But I want you to ride with me." He said.

"No, Caspian. I can't. I don't think it would be right." You said, even though you wanted nothing more than and excuse to be able to hold him-even if it was on horseback.

"Nonsense." Caspian said and cleared his throat. "Jade…as future King as Narnia and Emperor of the Lone Islands…I hereby order you to ride with me during my crowning ceremony." He said in a deep voice which caused you to laugh.

"Fine then, I will if you really want me to." You said. "But I don't understand what the big deal is…I don't mind watching from the crowd."

"I know that." He said, his eyes narrowing again and giving you the look that gave you the chills. "But I don't want to go out there without you by my side."

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**Aww…how cute! Isn't this the perfect ending chapter…now all it needs is a nice little epilogue to finish it off.**

**NOT!**

**Haha…I'm just kidding. This story isn't nearly done. So don't worry everyone…it's not over. Much more drama, suspense, and conflict to come! **

**So strap on your seatbelts and get ready for some more plot twists in the chapters to come. And in the meantime, you can review for me and let me know how the story is coming along as the ending is both close yet very far away. As for me, I've gotta get to the beach. Bye! And enjoy.**

**And REVIEW!**

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	31. Chapter 31: Troubling Confrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Well after a very nice day at the beach, I can't say how good it feels to curl up into a nice snug ball in my bed and write this chapter (while I watch the Beijing Olympics and Mike Phelps totally owning in swimming).**

**And I can't express my gratitude when I come to realize how many people have been following my story. It really makes me feel better about myself to know that I am bringing you all entertainment! I just want to say thank you to all of you who have been with my Caspian Love story since the start as it nears the beginning of its end.**

**And sorry that this chapter didn't come out quite as fast, I got a bit sidetracked writing a bit of the next chapter haha. What can I say? I love to write and I can't just let inspiration go when I get it! So yeah…that chapter is about half done so it will come out shortly...maybe tomorrow if I'm feeling generous. And of course, that is…unless you guys remember to review!**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 31: Troubling Confrontation**

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**Jade's POV **

After the Coronation Ceremony, something just didn't feel right. You weren't feeling sick or queasy…nothing like that. It was more like an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Something seemed out of place…like you were forgetting something very important. But you couldn't put your finger on exactly what was making you feel this way. It was very unnerving.

That's why while everyone was dancing like mad and drinking and eating their hearts out, you found yourself escaping the ruckus of the lively castle ballroom. All the noise and merriment was making you even more disturbed; you felt like you should be joining in on their contagious laughs and cheers, but nothing seemed to be able to put a smile to face. No such thing could happen until your anxiety was settled.

You were very confused. You had been fine during the Coronation Ceremony…from being able to ride behind King Caspian and alongside all of your dear friends…to his eyes never leaving yours as he was Crowned…to how utterly gorgeous he looked with that Crown atop his head…and finally, to the way he walked right up to you after the Ceremony and gave you a heartfelt kiss on the cheek and said "thank you". You felt butterflies in your stomach from merely recalling the past events; but that longing feeling was soon replaced with dread as anxiety almost immediately resurfaced in your system and swept away all the happy thoughts.

Something just wasn't right.

"_I've never felt this way before…"_ you thought. _"It's like there is something I need to be worried about, something really really important…but I can't remember what…"_

It was like the feeling you get when you know you are forgetting something…only ten times worse. Because it didn't feel like you were forgetting something stupid like to clean in between your toes or make sure your corset was on nice and tight. No…it was something much more urgent.

You felt like you were racing out into the battlefield in your sleepwear. No chain mail…no armor…no shield…not even a weapon. It was like you were running around blindly in this world with no clue as to what you were getting yourself into. You felt completely vulnerable.

You silently slipped through the huge doors, hoping that no one would notice your sudden disappearance. Taking one glance back, you were relieved to see that everyone was preoccupied with one thing or another and was not looking your way. The Pevensies were all swimming throughout the crowd of Narnians doing an old royal dance, and not even Caspian was watching you. You found this a bit strange and decided to crane your neck around to see if he had by any chance asked one of the fair young village maidens for a dance.

But to your relief, he was seated at the head of the front table talking to his Professor who was seated to his left (kind of like the Headmaster's table in the Great Hall from Harry Potter, only there were much more tables plus a dance floor). You and Caspian had both shared the first dance of the night…and you were planning on it being his last dance.

Your mind had flickered back to your intimate dance with him, and this only made you notice even more how drastically your mood had changed in that short period of time. You never really realized when this sudden feeling of dread had overwhelmed you… but something in the back of your head was telling you that it had started to form the moment you laid eyes on that mysterious sack on your beside chair.

Turning back around, you let your feet drag you out of the noise range of the blaring ballroom. You fled into the gardens where you decided to take a stroll…hoping that a nice peaceful walk would clear your mind. You slipped off your silver shoes, wanting to feel the cold and refreshing grass beneath your feet.

It was kind of hard to see in the dark. It wasn't the dead of night or anything, you could still barely see the outlines of the bushes and flower beds so you could be cautious enough not to step or run into any of them. But as you gazed at the pale moon in the distance, you noted how it didn't seem to be shining quite as brightly…which didn't exactly aid you in your quest to shuffle through the maze of plants without tripping over your own two feet.

"Ouch!" you yelped as your foot brushed up against a patch of roses and got scratched from its thorns. "Ugh…stupid flower…" you mumbled as you bent down to tend to your wound. But due to the darkness, you couldn't see how bad the scratch was. While you were too preoccupied with inspecting your wound, you didn't notice the magnificent creature who had come up behind you.

"It is not wise to wander in the darkness alone," came a silky, familiar voice. "What brings you out here all by yourself, little one?" You did not expect anyone to be following you, and when you heard the unexpected voice from behind, you were scared for a moment that it might be Caspian. And that made you feel even more unsettling…the fact that you did not even want to see the man you loved…and what was worse was that he was the last person you wanted to see.

"_What's wrong we me…"_ you thought, before turning your attention back to the place where the voice came from.

And even thought it was pitch black outside, Aslan's golden mane seemed to pierce through the darkness.

"Oh! Aslan!" You were slightly nervous, yet relieved. "Sorry…um…what are you doing out here?" you said, hoping to change the subject. You knew that Aslan could probably help you with your problem…but that was what you dreaded the most. You didn't know what was making you feel like this…and you wanted to keep it this way. Because somewhere inside you, you knew that the knowing the truth would only make everything ten times worse.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied, "but that would leave my first question long forgotten." He pawed his way over to you, his long strides strong and pronouncing. The stern look he was giving you made you feel awkward…like you were an open book and he could read all your thoughts.

"Oh right…sorry…" you mumbled.

"Please tell me, Jade. What seems to be troubling you?" He asked sincerely.

You took his words into consideration before he spoke. "I…don't know…" you said truthfully. You didn't know what spurred you to do so, but you felt like you could trust Aslan and pour out your heart to him. And that's exactly what you did…you let out every emotion and insecurity you had been having lately "…I don't know anything anymore… I don't even know who I am…let alone what I'm doing here in Narnia in the first place. I feel like I'm forgetting something…someone…I don't know. I just…wish I knew what I'm doing here…and why."

"I see…" Aslan mused to himself. "It seems as if it is finally wearing off…" he said sadly.

"What's wearing off?" you asked curiously.

Now it was Aslan's turn to look almost reluctant to speak. "I must apologize, Jade. I was only trying to help you. We were cut short for time…and it was the only thing I could think of to ease your mind. "

The tone of his voice would have made you feel guilty if you were not so frustrated. He knew what was going on…he did something to you…and you wanted to know what. You narrowed yours eyes at him a bit.

"What did you do?" you asked accusingly. "What's gone wrong with me?!"

"Relax, Jade…nothing's gone wrong with you." He said firmly, but it wasn't enough to scare you.

"Relax? How am I supposed to relax? I'll relax when you tell me what's going on." You were about to go off the edge. All your nerves and frustration seemed to fuse together as they pinpointed the one emotion that you had not yet unleashed in this new world… anger. Rage. Fury.

"I intend to do just that. Just calm yourself…and let me explain." He said softly, and you could feel the vibrations from his voice calming you down slightly. But not quite as much as you would have liked. "Two days ago…I shared with you and Lucy some very important information…about your future here in Narnia. But under the circumstances, it was too much for you to handle at the moment. So…I used a bit of old magic to release the recent news from your mind."

"You erased my memory?!" you blurted out, now jumping to conclusions. It was no surprise that you were getting Aslan more frustrated every time you opened your mouth, but you just couldn't help it.

"No, Jade. They are not gone forever. The magic that I used…it usually holds out for about three or four days. Your memories will return shortly…but I feel as if you deserve to here the truth from me instead of finding out for yourself. There's no telling how you might react." He said giving you a pointed look.

You nodded. "I understand…I want to hear it from you too. Now." You said, trying with all your might to be sincere and calm, yet demanding at the same time.

"Very well, then. And before I start, I just want to get one thing straight. I did not erase your memories…neither the ones from two days ago nor the ones from before you came here. It was doing of time…Narnian time. You are used to the way things work here in Narnia yet. But do not worry, dear one, you did have a previous life before you came here. I know…" He said.

Your ears perked up at this, seeing as this was what had been troubling you all along. Of course that didn't mean you weren't as equally curious as to what short term memory he had released, but what you wanted to know more than anything in the world was your past and who you really were.

"You know…about…me?" you asked excitedly. Aslan nodded. "Can you tell me?" you asked hopefully.

"No…that I cannot help you with." he said, and your hopes immediately dropped. "I'm afraid those memories are your responsibility…it would be wrong of me to meddle."

"Oh…ok…I understand." You said, even though you didn't.

"Good…now, then." He began. You took a seat on a nearby bench. You had a feeling this wasn't going to be a short story. "Jade…you are familiar with the story of how Narnia was born." He said. It wasn't a question.

But you nodded anyways. "Yes…you were crowned Immortal King of Narnia because you said that everything is of equal importance." You expertly quoted.

"You have a good memory." He said. "But, unfortunately, that is not the part of the story I was referring to. Listen carefully and tell me if this is familiar…

Narnia would finally be ruled

By a King and Queen who fell in love.

And if the day were to ever come

All doors to Narnia would finally be shut

And the forest and all the lands would never be seen

By outsiders again.

The maiden's spirit would make sure of this,

But until then

All doors would remain open

For the couple who is to bring about this day

Would not be from this world.

And once they are together

Madly in love in this world, and no other,

Peace would spread throughout the land

Never allowing any violent outsider

To stumble upon a magical cave or tree

And enter the magical world of Narnia

And threaten the couple's land, or their love."

"Yes…it is familiar." You said, feeling a familiar kind of dread build up inside of you.

"Jade…" Aslan said seriously, "the story…it is a prophecy about you and Caspian." He said. You did not believe him.

"What are you talking about?" you said, even though you knew all too well what he was talking about.

"You were brought here so that you and Caspian would fall in love." He said. He was lying…he had to be lying. "It has been long foretold that a Daughter of Eve would someday be brought from a different world to come to Narnia…and fall in love with its King. Thus…closing all doors to Narnia."

"_You see, Lucy. When you and your brothers and sister left Narnia, all the creatures were devastated. The Narnians grieved for years, for not long after you left, the Telmarines invaded. That was the final straw for them. What the Narnians wanted most was for a way to close off all doors to Narnia, that way, no precious King or Queen could leave them and no Telmarine could come and bring them harm."_

"Jade…do you remember when I told you of this the first time?" Aslan asked as he stood before you.

"_But why does it have to be Jade?" Lucy asked._

"_I do not know. She was chosen for some reason. As I said before, I did not bring Jade to Narnia. I merely told to look for her and make sure no harm came to her…for she is the hope that Narnia has been waiting for."_

You could not respond, even if you had wanted to. You just…couldn't. You couldn't seem to do anything as the images from that conversation flashed through your mind, rendering you speechless. It was like watching a screen play out everything, and you were just staring up blankly at it…watching the memories fold out before you. You were unable to do anything except watch.

"Jade…please answer me." Aslan said.

"_Well then what exactly am I doing here?" You rudely blurted. "I've nearly been killed half a dozen times…I've been a prisoner for the last God knows how many days…and I can't remember a single thing from before I came here. Please Aslan…tell me what's going on. What am I doing here?" you asked desperately._

"Jade. Can you hear me?" Aslan asked. Yes…you could hear him. You could hear everything perfectly. But all the while you would not answer…could not answer. If someone were to see you right now, you would look like a fish or something. Mouth agape…eyes wide…staring blankly at something that only you could see. Your memories…

"_Doors? What doors?" Lucy asked._

"_All doors to Narnia…"_

"Jade. Relax…calm down and try to answer me."

"What's going on out here?"

Oh no…not him. Anyone but him.

"_But…how is Jade supposed to do that?" Lucy asked._

"_I think once this war is over…you should be asking Jade that question." _

This can't be happening. This really can't be happening…how could this possibly be happening. You knew it was true though…the images flashing before you were not from a dream. No, they were all real. Too real.

"Stand back, Caspian."

"No! Something's wrong with her! What happened?"

"_It has been foretold…" _

And the second you felt Caspian's strong hands take a hold of your shoulders, you could actually see him standing before you. The images flashed away, and you were left with Aslan and Caspian looking at you with concerned eyes.

Caspian's eyes brightened up now that you were actually staring at him instead of off into space. But even though the images ceasing their slideshow like motion before your eyes, you could still hear the haunting words that Aslan had spoken to you that day.

"… _you will be the one…who closes the doors."_

And then everything happened so fast that not even you would be able to recall the details of what happened after those fateful words slipped through your mind.

You roughly pushed Caspian off of you.

His touched burned you. But not in the usual way…this time it wasn't pleasant. You instantly regretted it once you saw the hurtful look he gave you. You felt horrible… but half of it had nothing to do with Caspian's wounding expression.

He was the reason you were here. And not just Caspian…but Aslan too. He brought you here. He knew everything about you. How could he…how could they both?

"Jade, what's wrong?" Caspian asked. You loved him.

"How could you…" you whispered harshly.

Caspian looked at you confused. "What are you talking about, Jade? I didn't do anything." He defended.

"Oh sure…like you had no idea what was going on all along." You said. Caspian's eyebrows knitted together.

"Honestly, Jade. I have no idea what you talking about. Just relax." He soothed.

"No! I won't relax!" you yelled. "This is insane…you people think you can just bring me here without my permission…and then expect me to help you in return?!"

"No…not at all, Jade. What's going on?" he asked. He looked so concerned. "I would never do such a thing to you… you know that I have no idea how you came here."

"I find that hard to believe." You mumbled.

"Caspian had nothing to do with this, Jade. I haven't even told him of the prophecy. He is telling the truth…he has no idea how you came here." Aslan interjected.

"Prophecy? What Prophecy?" Caspian asked aloud, but you ignored him.

"So it was you then?" you said, now rounding on Aslan. "You brought me here?!"

"No, Jade. I told you before, I did not bring you here." He replied.

"Well then who did?!"

"That is not for you to know!" Aslan roared, a gust of wind blowing back your hair from his loud voice. You felt a silent gasp escape your lips as his booming voice was enough to nearly knock you off your feet. But luckily, you were able to stand your ground and continue the fight without fear.

"How is that even fair?"

"That's just the way things happen here in Narnia. You just have to except it." He said.

"So, let me get this straight." You said in a dangerously low voice. "I just have to _except_ the fact that I was kidnapped from…wherever, and was brought here to Narnia so that you all could set me up and…use me."

"That was not our intention at all. We did not set you up, Jade." Aslan said. You noticed that Caspian was still silent; probably trying to understand what was going on. But you didn't mind…you preferred it that way.

"Then what _was_ your intention?!" you accused. "You think that throwing me right in front of the most handsome, gorgeous, and kind Prince isn't a set up? It was all a dirty trick…how was I not supposed to fall in love with him? I didn't even have a chance!"

"Jade, you need to-"

"And then, after step one was complete, you all expected me to marry him and be his Queen and live happily ever after with him…all the while you would get to have your freaking doors closed and wouldn't give a damn what happened to me after that!" you yelled, interrupting Aslan.

"That's not true, Jade." Caspian said innocently. "I would never-"

"_You_ stay out of this!" you snapped at Caspian, who instantly shrank at your tone.

"Jade, don't get mad at Caspian." Aslan said. "Just calm down and tell me what you want."

"I want to go back!" you said. You thought that you sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, but you stopped caring at this point.

"Back where?" Caspian asked. You could pick of the hint of sadness in his voice. He obviously didn't want you to go anywhere. He loved you.

"I don't know!" you said, realizing that you couldn't seem to remember where you had come from…where you had been before you came here to Narnia. That nagging feeling came back, the one that had told you that you were forgetting something very important. "I just want to go back…"

"You want to go back home." Aslan said for you.

"Home…" Caspian said nervously.

"I have a home?" you asked.

"Yes, Jade. You came here from your home." He said. "You came here from the same home as the Kings and Queens of Old. You had a home…as well as a family"

"You…you took me away from my family!?" you asked, the anger becoming much more apparent in your tone.

"I'm sorry, Jade. We did what we thought was best for you." Aslan said. "I had no idea you would react this way…I thought you would be happier here."

"Well I'm not!" Lie. "And I want to go back to my home and family! Now!" you said, even though you could not remember at all what your home or family was like.

"Jade, please don't talk like that." Caspian whispered, but you didn't even acknowledge his pleading words. After all…he didn't really love you. This was all a set up.

"You can't leave…at least not right now." Aslan said.

"That's not fair! I don't even have a choice?! Well then you can forget about me being Queen…I'm not going to play along your little plan!" you said.

"I said you couldn't leave now…that doesn't mean that you can't leave at all." Aslan purred. "Listen, Jade. Tomorrow, when Caspian holds a meeting for the remaining Telmarine villagers, I will open a portal back to your world." This lifted your spirits a bit. Caspian looked like he was about to cry.

"Really?" You asked. You didn't except it to be that easy. You could feel yourself begin to calm down, but when you looked over at Caspian, your heart nearly broke from the look he was giving you.

"_He doesn't really love you."_ You told yourself. _"This is all a set up…he's only acting upset so that I won't leave. Don't give into him and his sad eyes…his silky hair…his beautiful face…just ignore him!"_

But you found it extremely hard to pretend like he didn't exist.

"Yes…I will. I promise I will. And when I do, it will be your choice whether you want to stay here or go back to your home…and your family. You will decide what's best for you, Jade." He said giving you a wary stare.

"Ok…" you said, words escaping you.

"But…Jade! What are you doing? You can't go back!" Caspian continued to plead, but you continued to ignore him. "You have to stay here…with me! You have to-"

"I don't _have_ to do anything, Caspian! Just leave me alone!" you shouted at him before you stomped away in fury back to your bedroom. Maybe if you just fell asleep sooner, the morning would come fast.

"Wait! Jade! Come-"

"Do not call for her, Caspian. She will come around on her own." Aslan said. "Or at least, for Narnia's sake, let us hope so."

"So what am I supposed to do? Just let her talk herself into leaving?!" Caspian cried.

"If that is the case…then let it be. Jade needs to make this decision all on her own." Aslan said sadly. "Let's just hope that a good night's sleep will clear her mind."

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**Uh oh…that didn't go so well. Fighting with Aslan is never good…and poor dear Caspian's heart is breaking. Shame on you, Jade!**

**Did my story just take a complete turn? I think it just did. :)**

…**Don't kill me!**

**Well in fear that I might spill anything from the future chapters, I'm gonna have to just leave you all here with this lovely cliffhanger!**

…**you know you love them. Haha ok, maybe you don't. But you're gonna have to live with it!**

**Bye bye! Enjoy and review!**

**Review I say! Just do it!**

11


	32. Chapter 32: The Space In Between

You were standing in a dark corridor

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or any lines from Kingdom Hearts either, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, so I lied. My story might be a bit more than 40 chapters long haha. I hope I don't have a limit or anything / Haha sorry. Looking ahead, it might take me a few more chapters to get down everything I want to include. But then again, you all probably want more chapters anyway.**

**And for any of you Kingdom Hearts fan out there, I kinda used the ideas from the beginning part of the game for this chapter. Sorry! But it was good inspiration for what I was trying to write…and I really wanted to include it. And it's not that big of a deal, it's just a video game so I don't think it matters. It's not like I'm copying them word for word, but I guess I'll include the disclaimer so that I don't get yelled at or anything.**

**And just so you know, this whole chapter is a "dream", or as I like to call, the "space in between". So don't get confused from all the italic writing, it is all a dream. And sorry if this chapter is a bit, well…different or overwhelming. I'm afraid some of your might like it…so please review and tell me what you think. I hope you like it!**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 32: The Space In Between**

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**Jade's POV (Dream)**

_You were standing in a dark corridor. You couldn't see anything…save for the crack of light that shone through the bottom of the door that was at the end of the hallway. You turned around behind you to see even more darkness. Pitch black darkness. _

_You did not like being all alone in the dark._

_So without thinking, you quickly walked down the corridor and hastily opened the door. And when you opened it, you were relieved to be greeted with light. Blue light._

_The floor you stood on was in the shape of a large circle, and the air above you moved in the shape of a sphere. It was like you were trapped in a large snow globe. The air that swirled around you was a deep blue color that sparkled in some places. And the fluidity that the deep blues and purples carried with them as they continued to swirl around you made you feel as if you were underwater._

_You could not see outside of the sphere, no matter how you tried…and you had the odd suspicion that this place was like a world of its own…suspended in nothingness._

_You turned back around, but the door was gone._

_Looking down at the ground, you realized how truly beautiful the design of the circular platform was. It looked like it was made of glass, with an intricate stained glass design. _

_It was the sea, you discovered. And what a beautiful sea it was. The cool blues and greens of the static rushing waves told you that this work of art was trying to portray a storm in action._

_However, there were no abandoned sailors desperately clinging to drift wood amongst the waves. There were no ominous clouds that were hovering above the thrashing waves. And there were no stray parts of a ship or boat that had gotten caught in the treacherous storm. _

_The only thing you could see was at the far end of the platform._

_A ship._

_It wasn't anything magnificent. It was a small little thing. Not puny or pathetic…just small. But it was alluring, and for some reason you just wanted to be close to it._

_And then, right above where the ship lay, an open door sprung into view. It was a beautiful door. It was a golden archway with carvings all around it that, from far away, resembles all the different kinds of plants, landscapes, and animals. It was beautiful… you felt the urge to run up and touch it. You wanted to run your fingers across the smooth carvings of the mountains…the roses…and the birds. It was all just so magnificent._

_But just as you were about to take your first step, a mysterious voice called out to you._

"_So much to do…so little time…" said the voice._

_You froze in your spot. What was this voice…you did not recognize it at all. It sounded like a young woman…her voice was very nice. But if this lady could talk to you, that meant she could see you. You were being watched…_

_The feeling made you very nervous. You could not speak._

"_Don't be afraid…everything is alright." It said again._

"_No it's not…" you heard yourself mumble as you recalled the conversation you had with Aslan and the row you had with Caspian. Nothing was alright._

"_Now, now…please don't speak like that. Everything is alright." The lady cooed. "Just do not go towards the door…not yet." _

"_Who are you…" you whispered._

"_I…am the one who brought you here." said the voice. "I brought you here to Narnia." the lady confessed._

"_You…" words escaped you._

"_Yes…it was I. It wasn't Aslan…nor was it Caspian. So please, do not blame them. It was me." She said._

"_But…but how…who-" You wanted to yell, scream, bitch at this woman. But for some reason, you couldn't bring your heart to be mad at her._

"_Relax, dear." The voice interrupted you. "All your questions will be answered in due time." In due time…now she sounded like Aslan. Always beating around the bush._

"_Then why am I here?" you asked, your temper rising. "Where am I…why did you bring me here?" you said, referring to the mysterious globe that you were standing inside._

"_I intend to give you all the answers you seek…just do as I say." Well, you weren't going to argue with that. When the mysterious lady thought you had finally settled down, she spoke again._

"_Now…come forward."_

_You wanted to take that first step forward, you really did, but it felt like you were being blocked by an invisible wall. It was the same feeling you had when talking to Aslan. You wanted to know the truth, but you feared the truth at the same time because you knew that the consequences wouldn't be rewarding._

"_Come on now…you can do it." The voice encouraged._

_With her words lingering throughout your mind, you found the courage to lift your right foot and take your first step._

"_That's it…take your time…the door is still open… don't be afraid…" it said._

_Oh great...was this all about that damn door that Aslan was talking about. Because if so, you definitely did __**not**__ want to think about that right now._

"_Listen, if this whole thing is about the doors-"_

"_No, it is not." The voice interrupted. "Just do as I say, and all your questions will be answered. Keep walking."_

_So you kept walking, all the while wondering if this was a dream or something more. It was too real and lifelike to only be figment of your imagination, but at the same time you had fallen asleep a long while ago. Maybe…this was like a place in between reality and dreams._

"_Stop." Said the voice once you reached the center of the platform. "Do not take another step." You were a bit reluctant to stop, you had wanted to walk all the way to the other side and inspect the ship…__**not**__ the door. No…you did not want to go anywhere near the door. You just wanted to see the ship, that's all._

_And while you gazed down at the ship, you were now close enough so that you could see a few details that you could not before. One of them in particular being the Narnian flag that was floating in the wind on the topmost part of the ship. You figured it was a Narnian flag, since it was red with a golden lion on it. That had to be Narnian._

_You strained your eyes a bit more, trying to read the small writing at the front of the ship. It was most likely the name of the ship, and you longed to know the name of the beautiful little ship. But then the voice spoke again, making you forget all about your desire to read the ship's name._

"_Now, my dear. I want you to know that I brought you to this place to help you with your decision." She said._

_Your decision. It was your decision. She said so. No one else but you could make this decision. The decision whether to stay…or go._

_But right now, it wasn't looking like much of a decision. You knew what you wanted._

"_I don't need help." You said through clenched teeth._

"_Yes, I believe you do." The voice said. And suddenly, two doors appeared on either side of you. They were identical doors, both white with no special writing or carving on either of them. They were so similar; you would not be able to tell them apart if they were rearranged. There was nothing to distinguish them apart, nor was there anything to give a hint of what was on the other side. They just stood there…one on your left and one on your right. The voice spoke again._

"_Once you see who you have become, and who you used to be…I doubt that you will want to go back to your home." She said._

_You stared curiously at the two doors, realizing something. "One of them must be the doorway to my home…" you said._

"_A portal." The mysterious voice said. "You will be able to see your home and your family…but it's not real."_

"_So one of them is the portal to my home?" you asked._

"_Yes…and the other to Narnia." She said. "They will show you everything. Your past…the best moments of your life and the worst. The people who touched your life and the people who left scars that will never go away. The events that changed your life forever, and those that you wish you could forget. They will show you bits and pieces of your future that beholds you in the world…and you will see what you have truly made of yourself."_

"_Yeah…whatever." You said, not taking her wary words to hearts. "Just tell me which one is the portal to my home."_

"_Which home?" she asked. You may have been imagining things, but it seemed as if she was toying with you. You, however, were not amused._

"_My home." You grumbled. "My __**real **__home. Not Narnia. Narnia is not my home." Lie. But you wouldn't admit it. "Now just tell me which one."_

"_That I will not tell you, my dear. It's your decision…remember." She said. Again with the mocking…oh the things you would do to her if you could see her. _

"_Of course…now they let me make me own decisions…" you mumbled to yourself._

_And then, acting on impulse and hoping that luck was on your side, you turned to the white door on your left. There was no handle, so you lifted up both of your hands to the door and put pressure on the solid object. But before you could open the door…the voice called out to you one more time._

"_This is where I leave you." She said._

"_What? Where are you going?" you asked, slightly happy that you wouldn't have to listen to her haunting voice echo throughout this place._

"_You do not need me here anymore. Everything is up to you at this point." She said. You nodded._

"_Alright then…goodbye." You said. You should have said thank you, your conscious told you, but you could not bring yourself to do so. _

_Turning your attention back to the door, you put all your weight on the blank white surface and pushed open the portal. But before you stepped into its depths…_

"_Two doors…two worlds…one home. Which will you give up in exchange for the other… choose wisely…"_

_And with that, you stepped into the portal._

……………………………………………………………………

_Much to your initial displeasure, you had fallen into the world of Narnia first._

_You had never been to this part of Narnia before…but the cool ocean breeze and sand between your toes told you that you were no where near your real home. Surely you could not have lived on an abandoned beach, right?_

_Hope sparked throughout your body as the possibilities of your dream live flashed before you eyes, but that was short lived as you saw four children playing in the ocean a little ways away. They were dressed in oddly matching clothes, but you were able to tell the two boys from the two girls because the girls were wearing skirts. You began walking towards them._

_Even though you couldn't make out their faces, their laughter and splashing were hints that they were having lots of fun with each other._

_And when you got even closer, you could believe your eyes. _

_They were the Pevensies._

_Peter, Susan, Edmund, and even Lucy. They were all their, splashing and tackling each other in the water._

_Your walk instantly broke out into a full out sprint as you longed to be near your friends. You loved them…you trusted them. They didn't set you up. They had no intention of bringing you here; in fact, they were brought here against there will just like you were. They would understand. They would make you feel better._

_And best of all, you didn't have to marry any of them either._

"_Hey! You guys!" you yelled to them. "Over here!"_

_But they knew where you were. At the sound of your voice, they all froze. They turned to you, serious expressions on your face._

"_Hey…you guys." You asked a bit nervously. Their intent stares seemed to be burning through you. "What's up?" you asked, trying to lighten the mood that had stiffened from the moment you called out to them for some reason._

"_What are you afraid of?" Susan asked you out of nowhere. It was quite odd the way she was talking…kind of like a robot._

"_Excuse me?" you asked. "Susan, what are you talking-?"_

"_What are you afraid of?" she repeated, with the same blank stare. "Getting old…being different…or being indecisive?" _

_And then it all flashed right before your eyes._

_You saw the future…_

_You were older. Not too much older, but you looked in your twenties. You were in a large bed, panting and heaving…crying and screaming. Your hair was plastered to your face…and you were so pale. It was like you hadn't seen the light of day for years. It was then that you noticed the huge lump on your mid section…and all the nurses fussing around you…the blood coming out of your…_

_It was all very disturbing to see. But then again, that must mean that you had found someone to start a family with…and you were bringing life into the world. It was still utterly shocking, and you did not wish to see anymore. Growing old suddenly didn't seem so bad anymore. But still…_

"_Oh my God!" you said aloud. "I'm…I'm pregnant! But…but…who! What…how?! Ugh…I don't think I can even watch!" you were about to cover your face with your hands, but then it disappeared as soon as it came._

_And you saw the past…_

_And you were different. Very different. You never would have thought you would ever look so…well…different as you stood in the middle of Dancing Lawn by Caspian's side as he delivered the speech that would eventually win over the Narnians. You remembered that day like it was yesterday. But it was much more different to actually see yourself._

_You looked so small and insignificant among all the other creatures…they could probably take you out with their eyes closed. You watched as Caspian had pulled you behind him and as you continued to cowardly hide behind him. You couldn't lie…you were very overwhelmed that day by all the different creatures that were surrounding you. It was almost like…racism._

_But, you had eventually gotten to know them a lot better. And from spending every single waking moment with your Narnian friends, you realized that you all were actually more alike than you were different. Because when it comes down to the line, physical appearances don't mean a thing. You were all fighting for your beloved land of Narnia… and that similarity was what brought you all together. And all at once you didn't feel so different anymore._

_You continued to watch as all the Narnians suddenly began to file out of the clearing, leaving you and Caspian alone. Your cheeks flushed from embarrassment as you waiting for what was going to inevitably happen. But you didn't want to watch it. You didn't want to be reminded of all that._

_And as if someone was granting your wish, the image disappeared in a flash of light leaving you with your own thoughts. Voices of the people whom you had grown so close to these few weeks flowed through your head, and you were reminded of the predicament you were currently in._

_And finally, you felt the present._

_You were indecisive. Go home…or stay in Narnia. Go home to a place that you had forgotten but longed to go back to for some reason…or stay in this new world where you had found people you love and care about, but don't know if it's in your best interest to stay._

_Which world should want you more? Which world would miss you more? Where did you belong in this world that you realized was so much bigger than you expected it to be? If Narnia was our world, and your world was a different world…how many other worlds were out there?_

_Which world did you need as much as it needed you?_

_And when you were suddenly thrown back into the ocean with the four Pevensies, you knew your answer._

"_Well, Jade?" she asked, giving you a serious stare. "What are you most afraid of?"_

"_Being indecisive." You answered. _

_Susan, or Susan #2 as you now decided to call her, tilted her head to the side as gave you a look you could not comprehend. "Being indecisive?" she asked. "Is that really so scary?"_

"_But…what?" you asked her, confused. You didn't understand. She asked you a question and you answered it…so why was she mocking you? You realized a lot of things as you strived to be able to answer that question…that getting old and being different weren't so bad after all. So why was she trying to prove wrong your own person answer? Opinions are never wrong…are they? But before you could say anything more, Edmund came before you and spoke in the same robotic and monotone tenor._

"_What do you want most out of life?" He asked. "To see rare sights…to be strong…or to broaden your horizons?"_

_And then once again, you were taken away from the sunny ocean to a place that was all too familiar to you._

_The balcony outside your room._

_It was like your first morning here in Narnia…the time when you opening the double doors only to be greeted with the most beautiful sight you had ever seen. And there it was…as magnificent as ever. Nothing could even come close to beauty of the Narnian landscape. The snowy tipped mountains in the distance…the hundreds of rivers snaking around the dark green grass. It truly was a rare sight to see._

_In fact, other than the four Pevensies, you weren't sure that anyone else had ever had the pleasure to see the wonders of Narnia. And even though you were mad at Narnia and everyone in it, you still could not deny that it was in fact the most beautiful…most wonderful…and rarest place you had ever been._

_For Aslan's sake…it had talking animals!_

_And you didn't think you would ever visit a place more amazing. You didn't even think you real home could be as great as this place. _

_And just as that thought crossed your mind, you were taken from the best place in all of Narnia to the worst… to the throne room in the Telmarine Castle. The place where you had the worst memory of all…_

_And what's worst was that it was exactly like it had been when you got there…from Miraz's boiling red face in front of you to the stained glass window of King Caspian. And unlike when you watched yourself in Dancing Lawn, no such luck this time. You were you…watching everything from your own eyes. It was horrible. You wanted to scream._

"_**Now, young lady, if you wouldn't mind I would like to know-"**_

"_**You can forget it!"**_

_No…no no no! Not this again! You seriously wanted to scream. How could this possibly be happening again! There wasn't anything to do except helplessly watch as the scene continued to play out before you. Your voice was like an echo inside your head, while Miraz's was like thunder._

"_Oh no!" you said out loud, but no sound came out of you mouth. "He's going to hit me soon!"_

"_**I am offering you mercy. And it would be in your best decision to take any form of compassion or clemency that I offer you. Otherwise…I will have no other choice but to get what I want…using force!"**_

_Smack._

_And it hurt just as badly as it did the first time. Of course you weren't able to talk…but you could feel pain. Just great._

_But it was probably a good thing that you weren't able to make a sound, because once the back of his hand made contact with your cheek you couldn't stop the tears from falling. You felt yourself crying…whimpering…wishing that you weren't such a useless piece of crap. Because that's what you were…useless. You were nothing. Here you were, just letting this asshole beat the crap out of you and treat you like shit…and you weren't doing anything about it. How pathetic._

_Why couldn't you just be…stronger…_

"_**The truth hurts, my dear, but no need to worry anymore. You're wanted here in my Kingdom, and I can help you. I just need a few favors in return…crucial information I know you have. But once that is all said and done, you are welcome to live happily and freely in my Kingdom…I promise. I will not shut you out like Caspian has. Don't worry about any of that…it's his fault that he didn't recognize a good thing when he had one."**_

_You froze at this. You hadn't known how long you were crying, but you did know that a huge chuck of your conversation with Miraz was missed during your bawling session. However, that didn't matter right now…because now you realized that his words were truly false. Not only would Miraz never treat you with respect in a thousands years, but neither did Caspian shut you out._

_You shut him out._

"_**I'm sorry…Miraz, but I have decided where my loyalties lie…and they reside with neither your needs nor Caspian's feelings towards me…but with Narnia." **_

_You couldn't believe the words that were coming out of your mouth. You were actually standing up for yourself. You were going up against the person you feared the most in all of Narnia._

_You were being strong. _

_Not physically strong, but mentally strong. You had it in you to be the best person you could be. And you could do it without trying, because that's just the type of person you were. And just like you had felt that day, you had never been more proud of yourself._

_And what was the use in wanting something you already had?_

_You gasped as you suddenly felt yourself being submerged. It was like someone had just pulled you through the floor of the throne room and into the ocean._

_And you could even feel the cold ocean around your body, soaking you to the bone. You opened your eyes only to shut them right away, the salt water stinging them. But while your eyes were open for about a split second, you did notice that the water around you was light greenish. That was a good sign. That meant that you weren't that deep and that the surface was not too far away. Just as the thought crossed your mind, your lungs seemed to burn for air._

_Air…you needed air._

_Pushing the stinging feeling to the back of your mind, you opened your eyes once more to get a better look of where you were. You looked up towards the surface and were relieved to see that it was only a few meters away. The sun shone right through the depth of water and illuminated your form as you continued to look up in desperation. _

_So instead of just floating around, you decided to make the shining sun on the horizon your destination…your goal to the fresh air that resided only above the surface. You pushed yourself upward and swam as fast as you could towards the light. But then… something blocked your view from the shining sun._

_It was a ship._

_And not a big one at that. At least, that was all you could make out of it seeing as you could only see the bottom of it. But even though it didn't seem so big, it still blocked the broadening sun that you very striving to reach. So you made this boat your destination instead. There had to be crew members that would help you…right? Surely they could get you out of this freezing water._

_And the thought of warm blankets and a hot cup of coca made you swim to the surface much faster. But instead of a ship and crewmembers on the other side to greet you, you were staring at the curious faces of the four Pevensies. And what was more was that you weren't even wet anymore. You were perfectly dry._

"_Unbelievable…" you said as you studied your hands which you had expected to be pruned from the salt water._

_But they were perfectly fine. And you didn't even get to see what kind of ship was awaiting you at the surface of the ocean. You were just so curious you couldn't stand it. You wanted to know so much more than you already did…_

"_Well?" Edmund's sharp voice said, causing you to flinch. "What do you want most out of life, Jade?"_

"_Umm…I guess…I guess I'd like to broaden my horizons." You said, giving the question some thought. Edmund smirked. You were shocked; you didn't think they would ever show any signs of emotion._

"_Broaden your horizons, huh?" he said. And just like Susan, he seemed to be mocking your answer. But you didn't even care this time. You just turned your attention to Lucy and Peter, wondering which one of them would ask you the next question. Much to your pleasure, it was Lucy._

"_What is most important to you?" she asked. You cringed. This was going to be a tough question. "Tell me, Jade. What is most important to you…prize possessions… happiness…or friendship?"_

_You knew the drill. You felt yourself being taken to someplace else. Someplace where you would probably learn something new about yourself._

_This time you could see yourself. You weren't in your own shoes…which you were thankful of due to the previous incidents you had to go through. Your hair was a bit longer, and you could tell that you were a few years older. And what you saw made you jump for joy._

_You were inside what looked like an oversized closet. It was awesome! There were racks and racks of clothes and dresses. Jewelry was everywhere. Even crowns! It was like a girl's dream come true. And the older you seemed to be enjoying herself just as much. You looked so happy, running your hands over a set of pearls with a hungry look in your eyes. You never imagined that you would be so…materialistic. But at the moment, you really didn't care. You were too preoccupied with the oversized crown with hundreds of diamonds on the topmost shelf of your dresser. It was beautiful._

_That was why you nearly cried when the image was taken away from your view, only to be replaced with the last thing you thought your heart could take._

_Caspian and another girl._

_A beautiful…tall…thin…blonde…and amazingly gorgeous girl._

_And worst of all, was that they were both smiling. Were they actually…flirting? Not like you should care anyway, Caspian didn't really care about you. No, he was only pretending to like you. Right?_

_Or did he really love you?_

_Whatever the case, one thing was certain. You could not stand to see him happy with another girl. You wanted to march over to the both of them and ring them by their necks. However, before you could even take a step forward you were back at the ocean with the Pevensies. You pouted. There was so much you wanted to do…_

"_What's most important to you, Jade?" Lucy asked in her innocent voice. "Prized possessions? Happiness? Friendship?" _

_You panicked for a second. This string of events wasn't anything like the last two. You had seen what looked to be the future of you and all your riches, but where did happiness and friendship come into play?_

_You were happy when you saw the image of you and your prized possessions, but you were filled with rage when you saw that Caspian was happy with someone else._

_And then it clicked._

_Caspian was happy with someone else. He was happy with some other girl…not you. He was happy…and you weren't. You didn't know what made you so upset, but you had a hunch that it was probably because you were still madly in love with him and were still in the process of trying to shut him out and get over him. But…you didn't want him to be happy with someone else. _

_But shouldn't you? After all…he was your friend before you fell in love with him. And then another thing clicked as you continued to stare blankly at the four Pevensie children. _

_They were your friends too…just like Caspian was. You were all friends._

_So…if Caspian were to ever find someone else that he may fall in love with, shouldn't a friend be happy for him instead of wanting to rip his head off? That's how you would react if Peter, Susan, Edmund, or Lucy ever fell in love with someone. You would be happy for them no matter what. So didn't Caspian deserve the same kind of friendship? Even if he was irking you at this particular moment, you still did care about him. You loved him._

_Prized possessions aren't important at all. Friends are far more valuable than gold._

_Happiness is the result of friendship._

_Friendship is everlasting. It never loses its value. It never grows old._

_Friendship means putting yourself befor others and loving those who you care about more than you love yourself._

_Friendship means putting loved ones' happiness before yours, even though it may hurt. _

_Friendship is the greatest sacrifice of all._

_And it's worth every second._

"_What's your answer, Jade?" Lucy asked._

_You looked up at her, a determined glaze in your eyes. _

"_Friendship."_

_She gave you a small smile. "Is friendship such a big deal?" she asked. You wanted to punch her._

"_YES!" you yelled. You were about to yell something else, but Peter's voice stopped you._

"_Relax, Jade. Don't get angry." He said. You couldn't help but notice how Peter's voice was much more lifelike than the others'._

"_Oh, so what do you want?" you asked rudely. "What question do you have for me, huh? And once I answer it, what witty comeback are you going to have for my well thought out answer? Try me!"_

_He chuckled. "I said relax. And don't be so condescending all the time. It's not fair to always jump to conclusions. They weren't mocking you." He said, motioning to his brother and sisters. "They would have said the same response for every answer you gave." He said simply._

"_Well then why were they saying those things." You asked._

"_They were only being indifferent. Not everyone is going to agree with you, Jade." He said. "Don't worry about what other people think. If you believe something is true, then go with it. Stay true to yourself."_

_You suddenly felt so stupid. Peter said everything like it was the simplest thing in the world. Yet, you had almost just thrown a tantrum._

_There was no right answer to your questions. In fact, there was not right answer to anything._

"_Oh…I understand." You honestly said. "Well then…what kind of question are you going to ask me?" you asked._

_He chuckled again. "I don't have any question for you." He said._

"_Really? Why not?" you asked. You didn't want to admit it, but you were kind of enjoying this little adventure._

"_I'm just here to take you back." He said. "And besides, you don't even like me anyways. I can tell."_

"_That's not true." You said, offended. "I care about you, Peter."_

"_Well, how about you prove it then." And he was right. You had never truly thanked him for asked Miraz to keep all the prisoners. You never expressed your gratitude for him. When you got back, you would make sure you confronted him before you left._

"_I will…" you said meekly._

"_Now then…" he said, extending his right arm towards you, "…are you ready to go?"_

_Now you were a tad excited. He would most likely take you back to that room with the two white doors. And this time, you would pick the door on your right. You would finally see your real home._

_And besides, the adventure was only half over._

"_Yes, I'm ready." You said._

_And you grasped his hand with yours, allowing his touch to bring you back to where you started._

……………………………………………………………………

**Phew…well that was a tough chapter to write! So much information to include in one teeny tiny chapter. I hope you all liked it. I felt bad promising you that it would be out the next day, so I worked really hard to get it out in time. **

**Next chapter will be out in…I'm not sure how many days. I'm gonna take tomorrow off from writing because it's my last day at the shore. And then Saturday I'm going back home, so I might be able to get a few pages written down during the day. And then after that its work and finding time to move my furniture into my appt at college. So I will try to have it out by Saturday/Sunday/Monday. Tuesday at lastest…I swear!**

**The more reviews the sooner…bye bye!**

16


	33. Chapter 33: Scattered Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Alright, so sorry for this being late! But I've heard a lot of good things about the Twilight book series so I thought I'd buy it and bring it to the beach with me for something to read. But I actually love it! And I spent the whole few days finishing up the first book. It was amazing! Haha but I'm sorry, I promise I'll try not to get sidetracked. But, if you love the twilight series as well, my dear friend TwlilightMoon416 has a few fanfics (that I will definitely start to read once I finish my own fanfic). So go check them out!**

**But anyways, I've also been busy and will be moving stuff into my appt at college. So idk if I will be able to finish this series before summer ends, but I will definitely try! I will stay up all night if I have to! If worse comes to worse, I will just have to finish it during school or the breaks. But nonetheless, it will be finished. So please don't kill me. I don't have much more to write…I think haha. Maybe like 5 or 6…or 8 maybe more chapters lol.**

**So yeah…read Twilight… sorry for the delay…and don't forget to review!**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 33: Scattered Memories**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV (Still Dream)**

_It was a bittersweet feeling, staring at the lonely white door that you had yet to open._

_Peter was gone. He didn't go back with you. He was merely the messenger, probably since he was High King and all. All of the other Pevensies were gone too. You were alone now; ready to enter this world that was both new and old to you. And even though your mind was still set on going back to your real home, you couldn't help but realized that when you go back to your world you would be alone once more._

_Sure, you would have your family…but the Pevensies wouldn't be there. And that hurt. To know that you would probably never see them again._

_You would never have another teenager girl friend your age who would be as close to you as Susan was. She was like your twin sister. She was like you, intelligent, sensible, and reasonable. You would miss having her around to keep you and the other boys in line. You vaguely remember that whole day she had spent with you, patiently standing by as you continued to fail at shooting a bow an arrow. Even though it was all hopeless in the end, she had never given up on you, even when Edmund made fun of you. But soon enough, she would be gone._

_You would never have a younger sister that was more like an older sister like Lucy. Even though she was technically younger than you, she always had the best advice and stories to tell. She was like a age shifter; at times, she could be your younger sister who you held in your arms to comfort her, and then the next instant she could switch back to your older sister, someone who you could have an in depth conversation with. You remembered that night of the raid on the castle when you both were left alone, and she told you all about her first adventure to Narnia. She had completely opened up to you even though she barely knew you, and you felt a pang of guilt thinking of how you did not return her the favor. And you would never get to do so properly, because come tomorrow when Aslan would open the portal back to your world…she would be gone as well._

_You would never have a brother that you would want to smack and hug at the same time like Edmund. He was so funny…yet incredibly immature and annoying. It was a love hate relationship. To put it simply, he could make you laugh even if the world was coming to an end (which was how you felt at this moment). He wouldn't be angry at you for leaving, would he? He would understand…right? You hoped so. For some reason, you just couldn't imagine hurting Edmund out of all the Pevensies. He didn't deserve it. That day he had visited you at the Telmarine camp, he had made you feel so much better. And he did it all out of the pure goodness of his heart. But when you left, there would be no brother like him to make you smile. No…he would be gone too._

_And Peter. Oh…Peter. Let's just say that you two didn't get off on the right foot. Not at all. _

_Wait…scratch that. Ok, let's be honesty. You hated him. Not only did he try to smash open Caspian's face with a rock, but he had also tried to decapitate you. And he didn't even apologize. Yeah, that's a good first impression to make. But…you learned so much about him, why he was the way he was. And you found yourself sympathizing someone who you should hate. Was that…sympathy…forgiveness…unconditional compassion? You never would have thought that Peter would be the one to show you something that you didn't even know you had. But he did. Sure, he may have been a bit of a jerk when he suggested that you fight during the raid on the castle, but you had to admit… he treated you as an equal. He treated you just like he did his brothers and sisters, and for some reason you liked that about him. And he and Caspian seemed to be getting along, you thought, as you remembered when they shook hands after the battle. So you guessed he it was only a matter of time until he came around. But you would never get to know the real Peter…because he would be gone._

_They would all be gone._

_Thinking about all of this almost made you reluctant to open the door…to find a reason to leave the place you had grown to love. To leave the Pevensies._

_To leave Caspian._

_But as the image of him flirting with the beautiful girl popped into your mind, you found the strength to push against the door and open it._

……………………………………………………………………

_The image before you was much unlike that of the other doorway. You were not at the beach. You were not in front of the ocean. You did not feel the cool breeze of the sea ocean. It was much different._

_Instead, you were in a hallway. A hallway that looked oddly familiar. And it wasn't like the hallways in the Castle at all either. It looked much more…plain…dull…modern._

_But for some reason, it had a homey feeling to it._

_You looked at both sides of the hallway. On each side there were three doors, six in all, and at the end of the hallway there was a lone door standing in the distance, making that a seven doors in total._

"_This isn't right…" you said to yourself, "there are only supposed to be four doors in this hallway…three on the right" you gasped at your sudden understanding and paused a moment before continuing, "…and two on the left…" you said in a whisper._

_But everything didn't happen the way you thought it would. It was hard to explain. It felt as like everything went back to the way it should be. All the information about your home, past, and family that was once lingering in nothingness came back to you. But it wasn't like a rush of memories; you didn't see images flashing before you or reminding you of anything. You just felt like everything was back in place, untouched and hidden in scattered places of your mind. And in order to bring them back to the surface of your memory, you would need something to rekindle them. You needed help, you admitted. You didn't think you could remember all on your own._

_This hallway was your old home. Not the new one that you were forced into, but the old one where you were an only child. That's all you could muster up from the scattered memories. And you had a small hunch that these six doors would help you to remember. So, eager to recall your past, you walked up to the first door on your left. Hesitantly, you reached up to the knob and opened the door._

_You were inside a classroom. By the looks of it, it looked like a younger grade…maybe fifth or sixth. The room had a childish edge to it, but it wasn't like there were any balloon stickers on the walls or scribbly excuses for drawings. It was more like middle school._

_You quickly turned back around, only to see that the door leading to the hallway was still there. That was a relief…at least you could go to and fro as you pleased. But you weren't done here yet, you had just started._

_You took a few brave steps forward and noticed how no one had even acknowledged your existence. You expected this though; you were most likely invisible to them. Wasn't that the way these whole portal things worked?_

_With the knowledge that you could not be seen, heard, and felt, you walked down the isles with a greater sense of bravery. You noted how everyone in the classroom was quiet and busy at work. The teacher was sitting on her desk patiently, watching her students with a wary eye. The students, on the other hand, were either hurriedly finished up their test, or were reading a book to kill the time until class was over. _

_You peered over an unsuspecting young boy's shoulder to get a peek at the test. Math…ugh, you thought. Not the most dreaded class of the day, but dreaded nonetheless. You flinched when the boy suddenly slammed his pencil down and flipped his test over, obviously done._

_You then froze for a second, realizing something. Something you had in your world that was not in Narnia. A flitter of happiness surged through you. You were staring to remember. You scanned the room up and down until you found it, and when your eyes landed on it, you smiled._

_A clock. How long had it been since you had been able to tell the time? You didn't know…you had completely forgotten about the useful trinket during your stay in Narnia. The short hour hand was lingering above the number 3, while the longer minute had was on the verge of crossing over to the number 12. School usually ended at 3, you remembered, and it must be the last class of the day. And minute now, the bell would ring, sending all the eager children home._

_And just as the thought crossed your mind, you heard the deafening ring of the school bell pierce the silence. You covered your ears fiercely, recalling how much you hated the sound. You watched as ever single one of the students jumped eagerly from their seats, and with their test in hand, raced to the teacher's desk and handed her the sheets of paper._

_One girl in particular caught your eye. She was the first one out of her seat, handing her test to the teacher enthusiastically and then racing to the threshold of the door. But instead of leaving the classroom, she held her place under the doorway with little tiny pink envelopes in her hand._

_You shuddered. You hated the color pink. And no doubt you would probably hate the girl too. Even though she old looked around 10 or 11, she could probably still be a runway model. She was tall and thin, with long blonde hair. To put it simple, she was beautiful. She wore a white spaghetti strap top with a light pink sweater that stopped at her elbows. She also wore a matching pink mini skirt. She reminded you of a premature Barbie doll, one of those girls in middle school who would always try to dress and act older than they really were. _

_You took in her clothing choice and turned to one of the windows. It was Spring…_

"_That's right," you said to your self, "In my world…we can tell the seasons…years…months…even days. They all have names." Back in Narnia, every day was pretty much the same. Or at least, it was the same to you. But that didn't necessarily mean it was bad. The days and nights had no boundaries, and nothing had a label. You liked that._

_You cringed as the girl smiled, handing out the tiny envelopes to all the girls before they walked through the door._

"_Hey! My birthday party is next week. You're invited!" she would say. "You better be there!" The girls looked exceptionally pleased, while the boys just snickered and made girly noises as they passed._

_The classroom began to thin out. Everyone was out of their seats, save for a little girl with long black hair. She was still animatedly scribbling on her test._

"_Time's up, Jade." You heard the teacher say. The girl scowled._

"_But…I'm not done." The girl whined, and you almost forgot to breathe. It was you. But you could not see your face. You were still in the back portion of the class, and you were more towards the front._

_You watched as the teacher walked up to the lone girl, nearly having to rip the paper away from her iron grasp on it. "Well you should have thought about that while you were supposed to be studying." The teacher scolded._

"_But I did study!" you complained. "I tried really hard! It's just that…my parents… there's a lot going on right now. It's so hard to concentrate."_

"_Well, then maybe you should try a bit harder next time." The teacher said coldly as she added your tests to the stack of others. You were shocked; the teacher wasn't in the least bit sympathetic. With a last sign of annoyance, your younger self collected her things and made her way to the door where the blonde girl was still standing. You froze, somehow knowing what was going to happen._

"_Hey, Jade." The girl spat. Your younger self hung her head low._

"_Hey, Casey." You said quietly. You watched on with a sick feeling in your stomach. Casey shoved the last pink envelope into your face. You looked at her strangely. "You're inviting me?" you asked, astonished._

"_No, my mom is." She said bitterly. "She said I have to invite all the girls in my class…even __**you**__. She feels sorry for you. But I don't, so you better think up a good excuse to not come. I don't want you ruining everything." She said harshly. _

_You watched yourself, and it looked like you were about to cry. "Okay…" you said in a whisper and watched as Casey smiled triumphantly before walking out the door. Your younger self dejectedly followed after her a moment later, only with a much slower pace._

_That's when you remembered…school, and how much you hated it. None of it was for you, whether it be elementary, middle, or high school. It just…wasn't for you. You were always so shy and distant; you never made any lasting friends. You would keep to yourself mostly, too shy to approach anyone. You weren't a loser, just a loner. You couldn't bear the idea of going back to those dreaded school halls._

"_But…I graduated." You said with relief as you remembered. "It doesn't matter…I don't have to go back to school." But what about friends…? A friend is a friend, whether it be a centaur, a mouse, or a Minotaur. You couldn't deny the fact that if you staying in Narnia, you would be surrounded by people who loved you. After all…didn't you just come to the conclusion that friends were mort important to you?_

_You quickly shoved that last thought away and marched back to the door. There had to be more memories…and good ones at that, of your world._

_When you were back in the hallway, you immediately pushed open the door across the hall, the first one on the right._

……………………………………………………………………

_You were in your room. Your old room. You found this odd. Back in your old home, your room had been the first door on the right. It was quite ironic. Everything in your room was the just the way you had remembered it. You even saw yourself again. You were still in the same closes that you were wearing from the previous scene, so you had a hunch that it was still the same day…only now it was much darker out. You were on your bed, scribbling on your notebook with a textbook held out in front of you. Most likely homework, you thought. Bu then something happened that made you jump with fear._

"_Get rid of it!" you heard from downstairs. It was your dad. Your real dad._

"_Leave me alone!" your mother's voice rang throughout the house._

"_Leave you alone? Oh don't worry, I'll leave you alone." Your dad's voice said bitterly. "Just let me know when you ever want to have Tyler and his three little angels over for dinner or something, I'll be sure to give you both your well needed privacy." He said sarcastically._

"_I said leave me alone!"_

_You froze where you stood, paying no heed to your younger self who now looked frightened and alert. You remembered this night all too well. You knew what was coming…you cursed that mysterious voice. How dare she make you relive such an event like this? _

"_Not until you agree to get rid of it!" your dad yelled. "I will not let this baby be an excuse for you to empty my wallet! I want no responsibility for it! You are not having that baby!" _

_The baby…Alex…that baby was Alex!_

"_That's not your decision to make!" she cried._

_Your dad paused for awhile, as if in thought._

"_Hmm…you're right…" he said in mock contemplation, "…it's probably not mine anyways…"_

"_Dan!" you're mom shrieked. "It is yours! How can you even say that?!"_

"_How can I even say what? The truth?" he yelled dangerously. "What's wrong, Joyce? Can't handle the mess you left yourself with?! Can't handle the consequences of your actions?! Can't handle the fact that you're a lying, cheating whore?!" _

_There was another pause._

"_How could you…" your mom said in a low, dangerous voice._

"_No…how could __**you**__." Your dad replied._

_And that's all you could take. With one glance behind you to make sure the door was still there, you bolted from the room and down the stairs. Your home was familiar as well, but you didn't care right now. All that mattered right now was that you get to you dad as soon as you could. Maybe if you could get him to see you…to hear you…you could change everything._

_You made it down just in time to see him walk out the front door. You raced after him, not even looked back at your mom. "Dad!" you called, but he could not hear you._

_He walked towards his car and violently opened the door. You quickly followed and made it into the passenger side just as he was starting the engine. "Dad? Dad! Can you hear me?!" you yelled in his ear. "Dad!" you continued to scream, but it was no use._

_You watched as your dad mumbled to himself, opening the armrest compartment and pulling out something pungent. You stared at your dad in disbelief. Alcohol. And from the stench his breath gave off as he continued to mumble to himself, you could tell that it wasn't the first drink he had had tonight._

"_Dad, no!" you cried. But he took a swing of the bitter drink. He didn't even cringe at the taste. That wasn't a good sign. That must mean he was already somewhat drunk. "Dad, you can't do this! Seriously! Stop!" But still, no response. He put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway, still mumbling profanities under his breath. _

_You fidgeted in your seat as you continued to yell in his ear, begging him to stop. But he would not stop driving through the brightly lit roads of your neighborhood. He was going to drive right into his own death… you just couldn't let that happen._

_You panicked when he took the road that broke off from your neighborhood and led right onto the main road. Looking at the road ahead, you could see the quickly moving cars on the main road. You also saw a stop sign in the near distance, right before the main road. But your dad made no move to stop or even slow down. He just kept driving._

"_Dad! Please, Dad! If you love me at all you will stop this car!!" But that didn't work…it was too late. Your dad blew the stop sign and sped into oncoming traffic from both directions. "DAD!" you were able to get out before a sounding crash echoed through the night as a car hit you from the left…the drivers' side…your father's side._

_You closed your eyes as you embraced the impact. Tonight was the night your dad would die, changing your life forever. You signed…there were just some things you could never change._

……………………………………………………………………

_And much to your horror, when you opened your eyes you were staring at your father's lifeless corpse inside a casket. You almost screamed at the sight. He looked like a sleeping vampire, pale white and peaceful inside his coffin. _

_Today was his funeral. _

_And this time you weren't watching yourself. You were yourself. To your left was your mom, staring down at your father indifferently. Her belly was still flat. No Alex yet. And draped around her waist was the arm of the man who would ruin your life. _

_Tyler._

_He and your mom were surrounded by two boys. The demons, as you recalled them. How you could ever forget them? You wished with everything in you that you could forget their existence once more._

_Ryan and Ben. You glared at them with your younger self's body, and they returned a smirk. Mike, who was still a baby, was securely in Tyler's other arm. Tyler's wife died giving birth to Mike about a year ago and you felt bad for her. Was she twisting and turning in her grave? You hoped that your step father would drop him or something. That would make this day better._

_But alas, no such luck. Today was the day of your father's funeral…the worst day of your life according to your records. You felt tears slide down your younger self's cheeks, unable to control them as your 12-year-old self cried over your father's dead body. _

_You were enraged by the fact that no one else was crying. You didn't expect Tyler or his demons to show any form of emotion, but you had hoped that your mother would be just the slightest bit upset. But when Tyler squeezed the side of her waist, you watched as she smiled and tried to suppress a giggle. You sniffed away a wave of tears._

"_Oh, honey. Don't cry. It's alright." Your mom said a little too happily. You craned your neck in her direction. You wanted to smack that smile off her face. Yeah, everything __**was**__ alright…for her._

"_No!" you felt yourself shout, just like you had before on this day. The scene was replaying, and you were caught in this unfortunately familiar position. "It's not alright! And it never will be!"_

"_Now, honey. Now's not the time. Please don't make a scene." Your mother hissed under her breathe._

_You narrowed your eyes at her, preparing to repeat the words that would ruin your relationship with your mother forever. "I hate you."_

_And with that, you let your feet carry you back up the isle of the church. You remembered this day and how you had stormed out of the church, furious. Without even a second glance back, you pushed open the wide stained glass double doors. _

_But rather that being greeted with the fresh air of that Spring morning, you found yourself back in the hallway of your old house. You turned around at the door and realized that you had just come out from the second door on the right. You grumbled in frustration._

"_Come on!" you shouted to no one in particular, but in hopes that someone could hear you. You could feel fresh tears burning your eyes. "Stop showing me all of my worst memories! My life at home couldn't be __**that **__bad! Show me something…I don't know…happy?" _

_You huffed, stepping far away from the doors on the right. They weren't exactly on your best side right now. Surely the doors on the left would show you nicer. Your life had to get better at some point…right? They were probably just trying to scare you away at the beginning so you would want to return back to Narnia hands down. _

_But it wasn't working. You were more determined now then ever. Determined to find that one happy memory. So, pushing your anxieties aside, you opened the second door on the left. _

……………………………………………………………………

**Ok, so I'm really really sorry for updating slowly again. I'm doing my best! And I promise that her "dream" will be over by the next chapter. **

**Still oodles of drama to come. Don't go anywhere!**

**Next chapter will be out as soon as I can manage it. Please don't hate me!**

10


	34. Chapter 34: Shattered Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok, I know I keep apologizing about these stories being out late and you probably hate me. But I'm being very sincere. I've got so much to do in so little time and I'm going to have to continue this story into college. So sorry again! And I tend to get really busy in college, so there are going to be updates about ever two weeks or so. I'm terribly sorry, I really thought I could finish this story by the end of summer. But with work and getting ready for college and moving into my appt, my time has been flying out the window. Plus I still have this nasty virus which is making internet access impossible some days. It's all really stressing me out and I hope you all don't mind the one a week updates.**

**But I'm serious when I say I'm not going to leave my story undone! It will be finished!**

**And I really can't tell you all how happy and grateful I am that I still have dedicated readers who have stuck with my story even when it was crappy. So thank you everyone for reading and please forgive me for the late updates.**

**And I promise, this is the last chapter with Jade's dream. Her dream is over after this chapter, and then it's Caspian time! Or is it…? Haha you will just have to keep reading and find out!**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 34: Shattered Memories**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV (Still Dream)**

_Stepping through the door, you felt a cool rush of fresh air whip past you. You let the breeze play with your hair and then rush past you, rustling the leaves of the many trees surrounding you. And the breeze blew something else…a long white skirt that resided around your tiny waist. You looked at it peculiarly as it blew in the wind. When had you been wearing this? You put that question to the back of your mind as you looked up and calculated your surroundings._

_You realized that you must be outdoors. Not only that, but you were in the middle of some kind of forest. But it was nothing like the forests of Narnia. Not at all. The trees were either too thin and scrawny or too old and bulky. Their bark looked crusty and sappy. They were not beautiful. And the leaves weren't lush green. They were pale shades of earthy colors, not like the richly colored landscapes of Narnia. Half of them looked like they were about to die. And the dying trees matched the dead grass that crunched under your feet. To say the least, it was a crumpled mess of dirt, twigs, and liberal trash. It was not appealing at all…and so unlike the smooth green grass that flourished throughout Narnia. _

_But even so, it still looked oddly familiar. You racked your newly returned memories, trying to understand what this forest was to you and your past. You wanted to know why you felt like you had been here before._

_A snapping sound from behind you caused you to turn around immediately, only to be greeted with a hard punch across the face. The force of the impact caused you to fall to the ground. You were too much in shock from the sudden impact that you did not have time to brace yourself before you fell; and you fell flat on your face, hair spilling out against the cold floor and eyes burning from the pain._

_Your left side throbbed. It was like…like what would have happened to Caspian if you did not stop Peter from smashing that rock into his face._

_The pain was excruciating. But for some reason, it did not affect you as much as you thought it would. Sure, it hurt like hell…but it was a bit…numbing. Like you had been used to this before, like it was nothing new…a daily routine._

_And before you could even catch your breath, the same hand that had delivered the blow grabbed a chunk of your hair and roughly pulled you up. _

_Now you were staring face to face with the last person in the world you wanted to see. _

_Ryan._

_His dark brown hair…his deep black eyes. This Ryan was much different than the one you saw in the church for the funeral. That Ryan was still short, weak, and hadn't hit puberty yet. But this Ryan…this was the fully grown and muscled Ryan. The one who had made your life hell on earth. The one who was cruel to you from the start, for no apparent reason. The one who left you crying in your sleep at night, whether it be his regular beatings or his harsh words._

_And suddenly, the pain in your left check was nothing compared to the fear you now felt for the young man who stood before you, still clutching to your hair relentlessly. _

_And much to your sickening displeasure, he smiled. _

"_Caught you." He whispered. That voice…how could you ever forget that voice? "I got her!" He half-yelled. He seemed a bit to excited…thrilled even._

_You reached your hands up to his, trying you best to pry his hands off your long hair. But he wouldn't let you go. He just watched you struggle with a pleasing smile on his face. You didn't understand at all. Why was all of this happening? What had you done this time?_

"_Good." Said another all too familiar voice. But the voice didn't make your blood run nearly as cold as it did with Ryan._

_You were never really scared of Ben that much. Sure he was strong, but you never saw him as much of a threat alone. He was always Ryan's accomplice, and he never really started any of the beatings. Ryan was the one who insinuated everything, and Ben was always just his little follower. Kind of like Batman's Robin._

_But even so, when he came into your view, you couldn't suppress the shivers that were overcoming you. You tried telling yourself that this wasn't real...that it was just a portal. But Ryan's punch was just so…so __**real**__. And it still hurt like hell. _

_Ben sneered at you. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." he said._

_Why did that stupid voice bring you here?! Didn't she say that none of this would be real? That you would only be experiencing your memories? And not reliving them?_

"_You do know that you brought this on yourself, don't you Jade?" Ryan asked. Ben chuckled at his side. You stared at him blankly. You still had no idea what was going on. Beating you up was their routine and this wasn't unusual in the least, but you could not seem to remember the consequences of this onslaught. What were the events leading up to this?_

"_Thought you could run away, huh?" Ben said. "Good idea. Run into the woods…where know one will be able to see or hear you." Ryan nodded and snickered in agreement._

"_This is going to be fun." Ryan laughed._

_You would have been shuddering with uncontrollable horror, like you would in the past, but what Ben had said caught your attention._

_Why were you running in the first place?_

_**"You're no brother of mine. I fucking hate you."**_

_You winced as the words appearing in your mind, sending aches to your already throbbing head. You so wished that Ryan wasn't threatening to rip your hair off of your scalp. It was only making the pain worse._

"_Hey! Are you even listening?!" Ryan demanded, noting how you were currently spaced out. He was apparently offended that you didn't even seem to be listening to him, nor were you quaking in fear before him. And you weren't going to…ever again. You were not going to let these punks ever boss you around again. You were determined. _

_**"You're dad's dead!" **_

_You winced again from the pain. Ryan tightened his grip on your hair, yelling words that you couldn't process at the moment._

_**"He's fucking dead and you better get used to the fact that our dad's in charge now. Start using his name, bitch!"**_

_With a third and final wince, you felt yourself lift off the ground a few feet, only to be thrown into a nearby tree trunk. But the pain in your back was nothing compared to the truth. _

_The truth of your past. The truth of your memories. Only, this wasn't your past. This wasn't even your future._

"_**If there is a God…then please, help me. What did I do to deserve this?"**_

_This was the present. You remembered that day when Lucy, Susan, and Edmund had told you how time in Narnia works. How a lifetime in Narnia could only be a mere second back on Earth. How a thousands years in Narnia couldn't be more than a year back in your world._

"_**I hate my life."**_

_So, if by any chance you did decide to go back to your world, this would be your fate. It would be as if nothing had ever happened. It would be as if you never went to Narnia in the first place. As if you were never mysteriously brought there. As if you had never tripped through that tree._

_Wait…the tree!_

_Your head snapped up from where Ryan had thrown you. When you looked up, they were both looming over you, their expressions hard and ruthless. They looked like they were a mixture of anger and insult…like you had offended them by your lack of reaction._

_Because that was what they lived for. Your reactions. Your scared, pained, hurtful, and tortured reactions. _

_But you didn't care for them. You tried not to acknowledge that they were even there. What you were trying to get a look of was the tree that had twisted to life that day you had entered Narnia. The one that acted as sort of a…doorway to a new world. The one that had saved you from this cruel beating. _

_You strained your neck left and right, but caught so sight of the tree. Plus, each time you swayed back and forth, Ryan and Ben blocked your view. But you expected that much._

"_What's your problem?!" Ryan demanded. "What are you looking for?!" _

_But you weren't scared. That tree had to be somewhere. As did a door that would take you out of this portal. This wasn't real, you reminded yourself. Even though you could feel the pain, it was all just in your head. There was a way back somewhere._

_Unfortunately, Ryan and Ben were persistent. They took a step forward towards you, causing you to push yourself even closer to the hard tree trunk. Ryan kicked you in your side. You yelped in pain, but would let the pain show on your face at all costs. _

_You rolled over to your side, trying not to gasp from the pain to much. But it was close to unbearable, and it was getting frighteningly difficult to breathe. You mused if you went back to your home, would your life be in more danger than it was here in Narnia?_

_However, all thoughts diminished from your mind as your eyes caught something right behind you that you had not noticed. You almost considered thanking Ryan for kicked you so that you were able to roll over in pain and get a good look at what was behind you._

_It was the tree._

_It was right smack behind you. You were actually leaning up against one of the trunks, and you hadn't even noticed that the other one was only a few feet away._

_And you were nearly 100 sure that if you walked through the archway, that you would be sent somewhere else. To your old house hallway or another portal, you were not sure. But you would definitely escape this place…and the pain._

_You mustered up all the strength you could and pushed yourself upward, preparing to crawl your way to safety. You ignored your step-brothers' laughter._

"_Look at her, she's trying to escape!" Ryan said while his brother roared with laughter beside him._

"_Quick! She's really fast! Don't let her get away!" Ben sneered, and they both doubled over in laughter. _

_But you didn't care. While those two idiots were too busy laughing their heads off at you, you found the time and strength to escape._

_As you crawled over the threshold of the archway, you could already feel the new atmosphere of where you were being taken. You would not have to endure your step-brothers anymore. That is…until you went back._

_And by the time you heard Ryan say, "Alright, let's get to business" it was too late. You disappeared right before their very eyes. You were already gone._

……………………………………………………………………

_You signed a breath of relief when you found yourself back in the hallway. No step brothers, no pain, no nothing from that previous portal. You were back on the other side of the second door on the left._

_But even though you were relieved that you would not longer die from internal bleeding, you still couldn't suppress the overwhelming dread._

_What kind of a world had you lived in? A cruel world where fathers die in the dead of night, where mothers change for the worst, and where brothers beat their sister until she cries and begs for mercy?_

_Surely, only a fool would go back to that kind of a world._

_But there was a nagging in the back of your head. Telling you that you were still forgetting something drastically important. _

_You glared at the third door on the right…your next target. What kind of torture would you have to endure next? What other threats to your humanity had you forgotten about that were waiting for you being the wood?_

_You hoped it was something that would make you happy. You really did. To say the least, you were starting to get a bit depressed. Your world wasn't like anything you thought or hoped it would be. At this point, you would much rather prefer to stay here in Narnia._

_But you couldn't. You needed to go home, right? There had to be something good there waiting for you. Something that you lived for. Something that gave your existence meaning and purpose. _

_So when you opened that third door on the right, you prayed to the heavens that your wish would be granted._

……………………………………………………………………

_You knew what this place was. You had seen these before in movies… commercials… pictures. But you had never pictured yourself in one of these places. You had never been to one of these before in your life; you had never needed to be. But as you gazed around you, at the rushing people, beeping noises, and the rustling of rolling luggage, you were sure that you were inside an airport._

_You looked all around you, left and right, pacing back and forth; but even though you knew you could not be seen or heard, you couldn't escape the crowd of people that you found yourself trapped in. You knew that the unsuspecting people couldn't feel you or see you if you were to walk right through them, but you didn't want to. The thought kind of disgusted you…walking __**through**__ them. Wasn't that like and invasion of privacy or something? Sure, they wouldn't feel anything, but would you? You didn't know, and you weren't about to._

_So you now found moving more difficult as you tried your best to dodge all of the oncoming rushers. But even so, it seemed like everyone was avoiding you. Well, not avoiding you, but like there was an imaginary bubble around you that told the people not to come too close. But it was still hard to see anything above the tall and large crowd. You were very small, and never had you been right in the dead center of such an incredible rush hour._

"_Excuse me, miss? Do you know where Gate 28B is?" you heard a voice very similar to yours say. Your eyes followed the trail of the sound, and sure enough you were staring at yourself. _

_This had to be sometime in the future. You could not recall any memory in which you were in an airport all by yourself._

"_The flight to London?" the female voice of the attendant said politely. You nodded. "Down the hall and to the left. It should be the third Gate on your right." Your future self gave her thanks and walked away from the ever smiling flight attendant._

_You struggled your way through the crowd, trying to follow yourself wherever you were going. You didn't want to lose track of yourself, if this was your future life that was playing in front of you, surely you were interested. This would be your life once you got back home._

_Click_

"Oh!"_ you thought with a sudden burst of intuition, _"London, England of course! That's where I'm going to go for college. I'll be leaving home soon! And my step-brothers!"

_Suddenly, life after you got home didn't sound so bad. You were going to college in a completely different continent. No mother…no step-brothers…no old life. It would be a fresh beginning. You could endure the few months that you had before you left. Your plane's flight was August 5__th__; your school started earlier than most colleges since it was in an entirely different place._

_But that was good. Different was good. _

_And you would be free too. That was more than good._

_You watched as your self tapped her foot impatiently at the ground in front of the girl's lavatory. What were you doing? She paced back and forth a few times before her something caught her attention._

_She walked a little bit down the hallway and stood in front of something on the wall that you could not see. You follow her…you…whatever! You followed you future self curiously._

_When you reached her, you saw that she was staring at a beautiful picture of the ocean. The detail in the drawing was breathtaking. It looked realistic. And when you strained your eyes, you could see the faint ghost of a ship in the very very far background of the drawing. You wished it was closer so that you could get a better look at it. But that's probably what the artist intended. Leave the ship a mystery to the observer, so that they can either imagine it any way they want or go crazy from the lack of information. _

_You smiled, you liked the drawing very much. You loved the ocean._

_But then your self went back to the entrance to the girl's bathroom, looking more impatient than ever._

"_I'm still waiting!" she called through the door, but didn't go through. Instead, she walked back to the drawing of the ocean and the ghost ship. But now you were curious. Who was on the other side of those doors?_

_Without even thinking that you would be transported back to the hallway, you curiosity got the better of you and you pushed through the bathroom door._

_You were very displeased to realize that the portal had brought you back to the hallway of your old house. You almost were about to pout until you remembered the contents of the portal._

_England. Hope. Freedom._

_All of those words seemed to be synonyms to your newly found exuberance. So there was a light at the end of the dark and dreary tunnel after all….the dream after the nightmare..._

_There was life after death._

_But still…something was still missing. And you had an odd feeling that it had to do with who was on the other side of the bathroom door._

_For Aslan's sake, what were you forgetting!?_

_It truly was unnerving. But then again…there was only one door left. You looked towards the last door hopefully, the third one on the left. This door was it. Whatever you saw on the other side of this door could either make or break your decision to go home and leave Narnia. _

_You felt your breathing become irregular, your palms sweating. Whatever may linger on the other side, you knew it was important. Good or bad…you weren't sure. But definitely important. You took a few brave steps forward in the direction of the last remaining portal. You wanted, no, needed to know what remaining shattered pieces of your memory still existed. What wonders on the other side could possibly be awaiting your arrival?_

……………………………………………………………………

_You were crying on your bed._

_It was the dead of night, and you were crying on your bed. You were much younger too. Probably about five or six. You were curled up into a ball on your bed, your hands covering your sobbing face, your long black hair flowing over you tiny form. You had the urge to run over and comfort your tiny, innocent form. But before you could act, someone else beat you to it._

_It was…you?_

_You watched yourself run into the room, flip on the light switch, and run over to the crying figure on the bed._

_Your mouth hung wide open. What was going on? Which one was you?_

_The older you rushed over to the crying girl, putting a hand over her shoulder and giving her a sideways hug._

"_Shh…it's ok." You cooed to the little girl. "Everything's alright…I'm here. What's wrong?"_

"_I had a…a…nightmare!" The little girl cried, and you continued to shush her. _

_You eyes were now bulging out of your sockets. This really…really couldn't be happening. You should never have forgotten…you felt ashamed._

"_Don't cry, baby. It's not real." You continued to sooth. But the little girl just wouldn't stop crying._

_This memory…it wasn't even that long ago. Maybe a month before you came to Narnia, or it could have been only a few weeks before. The memory was so fresh in your mind, how could you possibly have forgotten. _

_You felt your whole body begin to shiver. _

"_But it was real!" The girl persisted. _

"_Now, Alex." You pressed. You always used her full name when she was being difficult, you remembered. "You know that nightmares aren't real. I've told you before. There's nothing to worry about."_

_You were the mother she never had…_

"_But it was real!" she said. Then she finally looked up, her hands leaving her face so that you could get a good look at the person you loved the most in the entire world…and worlds. "It was about you…leaving me." _

_Both your bodies froze at the same time._

"_Alex…" you whispered. But it was futile. You knew neither one of them could hear or see you. Oh, how you wished you could reach out and touch her…_

_You took a step forward._

"_Oh, Al. You know I'm not leaving you because I want to." You said, your voice cracking. "But I have to. I need to go to college. You know I've always dreamed of being a writer. Plus, England is the most beautiful place in the world."_

"_Really?" she asked, now sounding eager and happier than before. You smiled, happy that you had at least stopped her tears from falling._

"_Yeah, it is. Remember the movie Peter Pan?" you asked._

"_Uh-huh!" she said, nodding jubilantly._

"_Well…remember how Peter Pan and the Darling children fly around the big city with all the light?"_

"_And the big clock!" she yelped. You laugh._

_You took another step forward. You felt the smile on your face, as well as the tears sliding down your cheeks. "Al…" you whispered again. Her nickname, the one that she would only let you use._

"_Yeah, Big Ben. Well, you see, all of that is in England. All the cities, shiny buildings, and pretty city lights that come out during the night. That's where I'm going to be living when I go to college." You explained._

_Now she was bouncing up and down with joy. "I wanna go too!" she said eagerly. "I wanna go see too!"_

_Now you frowned. "I'm sorry, Al. But…you're a little too young for college." You said._

_You took a third step forward. You were so close…if you reached out your hand, you would probably touch her cheek. You lofted your arm._

_Her expression took a 180. She looked like she was going to cry again, and you watched as you scrambled for the right words to say that would make her feel happy again._

"_But…Jade…I don't want to be all alone here. Please…" she begged._

_You signed. "You're right, Alex. I can't leave you alone here, and I don't intend to. No one should live like this."_

"_So you're going to take me with you!" you asked brightly._

"_No…not exactly." you said. "I don't know how…and I don't know when…but I'll figure out some way to bring you with me. I can't promise you anything right now, but what I do know is that I'm not going to abandon you. I won't go anywhere without you. I promise."_

_And as you watched you self kiss the top of your loving sister's head, you had the burning urge to do the same. You stretched you hand out even more, barely inches away from her face. But before you brushed your fingertips against her skin, she turned to you. Your eyes locked, and you froze in your places…fingers now centimeters from her cheek._

_And then she smiled…like she somehow saw you there._

"_Alex." You said, this time more desperately. You reached out your fingers a bit more, ready to close the gap. But before you could touch here…the scenery disappeared. "No…Alex!" you cried…but it was no use._

_But before you could breathe another breath, you were thrown back into the same old boring hallway. Only this time, there were no more doors on the sides. The only door left was the one at the end of the hallway._

_Still shocked from the recent events, you stumbled you way to the doorway. You cried your sister's name as you went, hoped that she was waiting for you at that last doorway. You felt wet tears stinging you eyes and covering every inch of your cheeks. You felt dizzy…hot…lost._

_You did not want to be here anymore. You did not want to be in Narnia anymore. You did not want to be anywhere except home._

_You did not want to be anywhere except where your sister Alex was._

_But when you finally stumbled to the end of the hallway and wretched the door open with your sweaty hands, you found yourself back in your room in Narnia._

……………………………………………………………………

You were bolted upright in your bed, your hair and body soaked in sweat. You couldn't feel your legs…your body was shivering from the cold sweat…your breathing was dangerously irregular.

It was still dark…pitch black in your room. You couldn't see anything. You wouldn't have had the slightest clue to where you were if you didn't remember that you had chosen this room to fall asleep in after you walked away from Caspian and Aslan, furious.

And you found yourself remembering much more than that.

"Alex…"

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**Ok, it's pretty late so I'm just gonna skip all the fancy talk and just say thanks for reading, hope you enjoying it, and hopefully you will review.**

**Night everyone :)**


	35. Chapter 35: To The Man I Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. **

**Ok so we're back to the real world! Well…that is, if you count Narnia as the real world. But anyways, back to business. Still lots of chapters to go, not to mention a sequel, and I'm running short with time. Sorry sorry sorry for the long wait. But school is a lot of work and it's impossible to update every other day. Now it will be like every month or something. But when Christmas break comes ill be back on my A game!**

**Even though I will forever be pissed off at the fact that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been moved from November to July. How could they! Oh well, at least Twilight is coming out early!**

**So yes, thank you for bearing the long three chapters of Jade's dream. That's quite a past she's had in her world. It would be a shame if she were to choose to go back to it all…**

**But just as I reminder, I want to let you all to feel free to review and e-mail me if you have and questions or suggestions. I'm open to anything. I'd also feel really bad if I made a mistake or left something out or if you, the reader, didn't understand something. Just let me know if anything is bothering you and I will be here to help! I know the last few chapters may have been a bit confusing and all, and that's why I'm just reminding you all to give me advice and feedback and let me know it something is bothering you! Other than that, positive feedback reviews are always appreciated! Reviews have been down lately, and that makes me sad :( **

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 35: To the Man I Love**

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**Your POV **

You couldn't sleep. You couldn't breath. You couldn't even seem to move. You just sat there, perched motionless on your bed while all of your memories swam throughout your brain as if they had been there all along; like they were all being trapped in some desolate cage in the corner of your mind and somebody just came up and undid the hinges, letting them all run free in every direction.

You were deathly still, and paler than usual. It was like you were in a trance, unable and unwillingly to move unless someone threatened you to. How long had it been since you had woken from that strikingly realistic dream?

Was all that really true? Was that what you would be going home to? You knew the part about Alex was real, and you would go back to her no matter what. But you were starting to question whether everything else was as bad as the portals made them out to be. If you were able to survive eighteen years of your miserable life unscathed, then how horrible could it actually be?

Still motionless on your bed, you realized that you could now see the objects that were in front of you. You were about to question what time it was, but then realize that people here in Narnia did not count time the way you did back in your world.

Your room was illuminated by the rising sun. It wasn't the dark and black pit it had been when you woke up. Things were in your range of view now, and you curiously wondered how long you had been sitting on your bed without moving and inch.

"What am I supposed to do?" you whispered. Because not only did that dream make you realize how much you wanted to go home, but it also showed you how much you needed to be here in Narnia. And for your own sake, not for anyone else's. Who cared about the doors anymore, you were unconditionally attached to everyone and everything about Narnia. Home would never be the same.

And you were sure that there was a rule somewhere that said you could only live in _one _world. Not two.

"…_two worlds…one home. Which will you give up in exchange for the other… choose wisely…"_

The lady's words unwillingly swirled through your head. You knew what had to be done.

You lifted a hand and touched your swollen cheeks. They were wet and numb, like how a drowned corpse should feel. Mushy and lifeless. But that was how your usually pale skin felt now. You subconsciously wondered what you looked like, now that you felt like a fish. Probably hideous.

But without taking one glance in the mirror, you pulled together the strength to move. You got up off your bed, your body achy from not moving for an unknown amount of time, and got dressed without uttering a sound. And you weren't surprised at all from the outfit you chose.

Your fitting white spaghetti strap and matching long white skirt.

You marched toward the door without a second glance back, except for when you grudgingly turned around to grab your black backpack which lay forgotten on the bedside chair. You didn't bother to check your cell phone to see if it had service.

……………………………………………………………………

You didn't expect the castle to be so quiet. It was usually hustling and bustling with all kinds of creatures who had a specific task on mind. There was always work being done and everyone was always busy. But not today.

Today everything was on pause. Because after today, everything would be going back to the way it was supposed to be. At least, that was the plan.

But you still didn't expect the castle to be so quite.

You felt like a zombie walking the halls. Your mind was dead at the moment as you let your legs lead the way. And as you passed through the many halls of the Castle, you fully took in how magnificent this place was. And just like that night at Dancing Lawn, you realized how much you stood out.

You felt like the stranger that you were. You didn't belong here…you couldn't belong here… hell, you weren't supposed to belong here. What could an ordinary girl like you do to deserve this glorious life?

You looked down at your ratty and plain clothes. Nope…nothing glorious about that. Just an old shirt and an out of style skirt. You then vaguely remembered Caspian's Coronation ceremony that he had forced you to ride with him to. You remembered how beautiful Lucy and Susan had looked in their magnificent dresses and tiaras, whereas you wore Caspian's mother's old dress. Not to say that you didn't love the dress, but it most certainly did not compare to Susan and Lucy's attire. They were Queens, after all. And Peter, Edmund, and Caspian were all Kings.

And who were you again? Nobody. Just some random girl who was flopped here to do something she could never possibly do. You were too overwhelmed in this place. You were in way over your head. How the fuck were you supposed to close these "doors" if you couldn't even handle a bow and arrow?

It was time to stop pretended that you were this amazing and special girl who was supposed to bring happiness to Narnia. It was time to wake up from this dream that you were more than lucky enough to experience. It was time to stop getting love, friendship, and happiness that you didn't deserve from people you never should have met in the first place.

This was all a big mistake and you were right smack in the middle of it. It was time for all of this to come to an end.

This wasn't your life, and it never could be.

Admitting that was about as hard as it would be to stare Caspian in the face and tell him you were going to leave him.

But what else were you supposed to do? As much as you didn't want to go back to the place you had sworn you hated and would leave forever once you started college, you couldn't just up and abandon Alex. You had made her a promise, and there was no way in hell Narnia could take you away from here.

And sure enough, your trusty feet had led you to the entrance doors to the castle. Outside these castle doors would be the whole town and castle of Narnia, including Aslan. Aslan…he promised you he would set up a portal to your home no matter what…

You continued to stare at the magnificent double doors that made you think about the Harry Potter movies. Never in your wildest dreams would you have thought that something so great could actually exist. In fact, this was even better. But all you could do at this point was be thankful that you got the chance to be a part of something so great.

And as you opened the double doors, you couldn't help but feel as if this was the beginning of the end of your time in Narnia.

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**Caspian's POV**

Caspian slowly trudged through the courtyard as he looked for Aslan. Black circles lined the bottom of his eyes from lack of sleep, and his skin was slightly paler than it usually was.

Getting up that morning was the single hardest thing Caspian thought he had ever done. Forget fighting dozens of Telmarine soldiers by his lonesome and accepting his duties as the new King of Narnia…this was far far worse.

He just couldn't grasp how something so special and important to him could possible be leaving today. Because if Jade were to choose to go home today, she would be leaving this world entirely.

It would be as if she disappeared off the face of Narnia, never to return or be seen again.

Caspian heaved a heavy sign. He had never felt this way before. Surely, this was what the end of the world felt like. Because if Jade were to choose to go home today, it would in fact be like the end of the world.

How could he have been such a fool? Falling in love with someone from a completely different world that he had no idea even existed. How could he have thought that someone so exotic and mysterious would want to stay with him and love him back?

Because Jade had her own world, he remembered her telling him about it a few times. But she had always talked about it so negatively that Caspian had never thought that she would ever want to go back. But apparently she did, and what kind of person would Caspian be to take her away from her home. She was not from here, thus it was only a matter of time until she would want to go back.

And if going back home was the only thing that would make Jade happy, then Caspian had no other choice than to let it be. There was no way he was going to be the one that took her happiness away.

But…

"_I apologize again. I did not mean for you to go through that. Sorry, but I didn't catch your name."_

"_My name's Jade."_

…a life without Jade…

"_You don't care about any of those Narnian's that died! Not a single one! You're just bitter because your beloved Jade got captured…or killed…and now you may never get to tell her how you feel! And guess whose fault it is?!"_

…wouldn't be much of a life at all.

"_I was…dreaming…"_

"_No you weren't…Jade…I love you."_

"Is there something you wanted to tell me, Caspian?" a low and soft voice purred, breaking Caspian out of his daydreaming. The young King looked up to see Aslan peering over from halfway across the courtyard. His eyes held a sense of sorrow and apathy toward him, but that was probably due to the events that happened last night when Jade had yelled at them both.

"_But…Jade! What are you doing? You can't go back! You have to stay here…with me! You have to-"_

"_I don't __have__ to do anything, Caspian! Just leave me alone!" _

Caspian shook his head, ridding himself of those hurtful thoughts.

"Umm-uh," Caspian stuttered, also taking notice of Susan and Peter who were walking by his side. They also looked a bit unhappy, but why? Caspian did not know. He found his voice and spoke again. "The townspeople are all gathered. We are ready whenever you are." He said politely.

Aslan nodded his head, and without saying another word, continued to circle the courtyard with Susan and Peter by his side, looking more upset than ever. Caspian watched them walk away for a few moments, before deciding that it was time for him to go and mentally prepare himself for his speech.

Sure, he knew his lines from and back just like any King should. He had an excellent memory, and he was charismatic as well. He knew what he was supposed to say to the crowd of people who were currently awaiting his presence.

However, he knew the second that he caught sight of Jade's face his whole mind would go blank.

She didn't care about what he had to say. She didn't even care about him anymore. All she cared about was going home, and the only reason she would be in the crowd would be so that Aslan could take her back home.

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**Your POV **

You couldn't even see past the crowd of hustling civilians. That was one of the disadvantages of being short. There were so many people here, and they probably had no idea what was going on…what was in store for them.

The loud murmurs of confusion and small talk from the villagers of Narnia supplied as white noise for you since your mind had been lost in translation hours ago. This was all just too surreal…

And then suddenly the murmurs quieted down, and you lifted your head up even though you couldn't see anything. You knew what was there, or better, who was there.

"My fellow people…" his voice rang out, "I stand before you here as your new King. This land rightfully belongs to the Narnians, and I am here to give it back to them…like it should be. You are welcome to live together with them in harmony, but never again shall they be ripped from what is rightfully theirs."

You had forgotten what a beautiful voice he had. It rang out through the cloud, crisp and clear. How could something so amazing cause you so much pain?

There were some sighs of disappointment from the crown, probably from those who were unwilling to live side by side the Narnians.

"However, for those of you who are looking to start a new life, you may return to the home of your founding fathers, the same land that the Kings and Queens of Old were from." You heard Aslan say.

"Huh?"

"What is he talking about?"

"I have no idea."

You heard the jumbled rants of confusion from the townspeople. You knew what he was talking about.

"Let me explain, my dear sons of Adam and daughters of Eve." He said eloquently. "You see, this land was not yours for the taking. Your forefathers were power striving pioneers who stumbled upon this land by mistake. And now, the time has come for the Narnians to retain their land. As Caspian said, you are all welcome to live here as you wish. But for those with hope for a new beginning where you can start over, I offer you the chance to return to the land of your forefathers."

And then everything became quiet for a moment. The crowd hushed, all waiting with anticipating for Aslan to show his alternative world. You world.

This was it.

And without a second thought, you began to push through the crowd, shoving everything and everyone that got in your way. You could hear the grunts and yells of anger from the townspeople, but you just ignored them. The adrenaline from seeing your home was pumping wildly in your veins, and you knew the only way to subside it- or possibly quicken it- would be to see your home.

But when you got to the front of the crowd, you were immediately disappointed. There wasn't much to be seen. There was just Caspian, the Pevensies, some Narnians, Aslan, and this tree. Your eyes immediately landed on Aslan, trying to ignore all the other ones that you knew you just couldn't bear to look at.

Your eyes were pleading, and as soon as they made contact with Aslan's, he nodded. He then let out a roar, causing most of the members of the crowd to jump. You didn't flinch.

And what you say happen almost took your breath away.

The tree…it was turning. Just like it had the day you came to Narnia. It was unbelieveable.

"No way…" you whispered. This was it…this had to be it. This was what had brought you to Narnia in the first place, when you tripped and fell through the twisting tree. And here it was again, right before your very eyes.

That day…it seemed so long ago. And now it was like everything was going back to the start. This was where it would all end.

However, the villagers didn't seem to buy it.

"What if it is a trick!" one yelled.

"Yeah! How do we not know he is leading us to our deaths?!" Another yelled. These Telmarines really were as stupid as they looked.

You were about to go forth and say something, but Reepicheep beat you to it.

"Sire, if you must, I have nine mice at my disposal ready to go through the portal." He said. Your mind was screaming no. If anyone had to test the portal, it should be you, someone who was actually supposed to leave. Reepicheep shouldn't have to leave Narnia for these stupid Telmarine's expenses.

No, you would be the one to do it. But once again, before you could volunteer yourself, another voice that you did not expect spoke up.

"That won't be necessary Reepicheep. We'll go." Said Peter's seldom voice. All eyes were on him, shocked. Even Caspian's.

"We will?" Asked Lucy's and Edmund's confused voices. You felt heartbroken for her. You knew how much she loved this place. What was Peter talking about?

"Yes, we will." Peter said, looking up at his sister. "It's time to go home, Lu. We can't stay here any longer."

"But…why?" Lucy asked sadly. You felt so bad for her. She looked over to Aslan. "Will we ever come back?"

"You and Edmund will, atleast, I think he means you two." Peter said.

"But what about you and Susan?" she asked.

"Don't worry about us." Peter said patting her shoulder. "Me and Susan will be fine. We've already learned all that we can here. You understand one day…you'll see." He encouraged.

You felt you eyes began to water with tears at the exchange. The way Peter was comforting Lucy…so kindly…so lovingly…it reminded you of how you would comfort Alex whenever she was upset. This was a side of Peter that you had never seen before. He did have a heart.

And Lucy was his soft spot.

You suddenly found yourself running up to the platform and leaping onto the stage where Caspian and the rest were situation. And much to everyone's shock, even your own, your legs led you straight to Peter and you embraced him in a meaningful hug.

He stood rigid for awhile, most likely still bewildered from what the hell was going on. But you didn't care, you just held him tighter until he eventually returned the gesture. And his hug was just as loving as yours.

"You're an amazing brother, Peter. And a great friend too." You whispered in his ear before the two of you broke apart.

"Thanks…" he said speechlessly as you looked deeply into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I'm sorry for ever judging you. I'm …I'm sorry for everything. I had almost forgotten how it feels to have someone that you need to look after…that you need to protect. I can't imagine how it feels for you…someone who has to look over his whole family. You're a good person, Peter. And you always will be. Please forgive me." You said. Peter looked even more bewildered than ever.

"Um…sure? I didn't expect you to be the only apologizing to me but…thanks. That means a lot." He said. "I'm sorry for everything too. You were right…I should stop acting like a sulking child."

And despite the fact that everything was going wrong, you laughed.

"Just…take care of her." You said, motioning to Lucy.

Peter laughed. "You don't have to worry about that."

Satisfied with his answer, you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned to Lucy who immediately attached herself to your waist. She really did remind you so much of Alex…

"I don't want to leave…" she cried.

"I know," you said, "but don't worry. Peter said that you'll come back some day… and I believe you will too. Listen to everything he says, ok?" she looked up at you with her large brown, tear-swollen eyes and nodded. And before you peeled her off of you, you gave her a long kiss on the top of your head.

You then turned to Susan, who was waiting next in line for a hug. The two of you embraced like long lost twin sisters. Susan was one of the only good girl friends that you could ever remember having.

"I'm going to miss you, sis." You said.

"Me too. Now I have to wait till Lucy gets older all over again to have someone at the same maturity level." She said. You let out a small laugh.

"Yeah…you have _no idea_ how much I'm going to miss you." You said, thinking about the three little boys that awaited your return at home. The two of you broke apart, each with tears in your eyes. You looked away quickly so that you wouldn't start bawling.

You then turned around, only to be met instantly with Edmund's embrace. You hug him ever so much more tightly. The brother you never had…and would probably never see again…

You felt your eyes begin to water again, but Edmund's voice stopped the tears in their tracks.

"Now don't get all emotional on me…I'm no girl." You burst out into laughter in his embrace. "I don't want your crying face to be the last thing I see before I leave."

"Oh gee, thanks Ed." You said sarcastically as you pulled away.

"Aww cmon Jade, you know I'm only joking." He said, smiling. "I'm going to miss you a whole lot more than you think."

"Same here." You said. "I wish you didn't have to leave so soon."

"Eh…no sweat. They can't keep me out of here for long. Besides, if you're ever in England, give us a call! Even though we'll probably be a lot older than you." He said. You froze for a second. Apparently it slipped that you were leaving as well.

"I'll keep that in mind." You said, actually taking his words into consideration. You would be going to college this fall, and what Edmund just said gave you an idea. But you figured it best if you didn't bring up that fact right now.

"Alright…we'll…good luck you all." You said as Edmund let go of you to stand by his siblings. They started to make their way towards the portal.

"But what about you, Jade? Are you going to go home with us?" Lucy asked.

"I'll be right behind you." You said. You looked away from the Pevensies, unaware that they did not make a single step towards the portal. They stood put, wanting to see your exchange with Caspian.

And the moment that you had been trying to hard to put off had finally come.

This was it. There was no other choice. You had to face Caspian some time or another, and now was the time. But you had no idea what to do…you couldn't even bare to face him.

What do you say to the man you love?

To the man who gained your trust in a mere day?

To the man who showed you this whole new world, and taught you that love is unconditional?

To the man who willinly risked his life for you on countless occasions?

To the man who was the reason why you were brought here unwillingly.

To the man you were supposed to be with.

To the man who was a part of the sneaky, tricky plan to get you to stay here in Narnia.

To the man who you still believed lied to you.

What could you possibly say to someone so...there were no words to describe it.

You shifted you eyes slightly to the left, and sure enough, his beautiful brown eyes were already boring into yours. His face was a jumble of emotions, but from what you read, he looked someone who had just given up on everything. Hopless and defeated.

And you felt the same exact way. As much as you hated to admit it, Narnia had defeated you. It sucked you in with its irresistable charm, and now it felt like there way no way you could muster up the strength to walk through that tree. But you had to. It was what you had to do. It was what you were supposed to do. There was no other option.

But the pleading look Caspian gave you, the completely hopless expression on his face, made you want to reach out to him and bring him home with you.

Wait! No! You were supposed to be mad at him. He didnt really care about you that way...rememeber. You couldnt give into his irresistable charm. It was exactly what he wanted you to do.

Plus, he was king now. There was no way he would be able to just up and leave Narnia now when it needed him the most. No...you couldnt be with him anymore. Just standing here looking into his eyes was even taking a toll on you. You had to end this now, before you second guessed yourself.

You could sense him taking steps closer to you, but you didnt move. You wanted to say goodbye to him properly, and let him know exactly just how deeply you felt for him. Even if he had only been pretending the whole time, that didnt matter as much now. Because you really did love him, more than you thought you could ever love anyone. That was a fact you couldnt deny. And you would embrace this feeling...embrace it, and then leave it all behind. You could do this.

You felt Caspian's form looming over yours, and as you looked down you watched as your shadows blended together. He must be only a few inches from you now. But the closeness didnt make you feel too uncomfortable. You actually felt rather...complete.

You waited for Caspian to speak first. You still had no idea what to say.

"Is this...really what you want, Jade?"

Always so sincere and considerate. This feeling was never going to diappear. As good as would would be able to leave it behind, it would still haunt you in some way or another. Who were you kidding? Narnia was never going to just disappear.

"Jade?"

It was going to be with you forever.

"Jade, can you hear me"

You were ready to make this decision, you really were. But frankly, you didnt feel like moving right now. Could this all really be happening?

"Jade, please don't be mad at me...don't ignore me."

You knew what you had to do. It was what you always did when you felt like you were being backed into a corner. But then you remembered the last time you did it...that didnt turn out so well. But at the same time it did. So you did the only thing you could possibly think of doing.

"Jade! Stop! Where are you going?!"

...you ran.

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**Wow! You all probably thought I died or something!**

**Well I didn't. School is just so hard and overwhelming now, and I'm trying to write as much and fast as I can. But it's hard!**

**Even as I speak I have so much work to do! But I just felt so bad and wanted to have this chapter up just to let you know that the story is still in progress!**

**Sorry again (and for the cliffhanger! Tehe) for posting so late and hopefully you all will send me nice Reviews!**

**Bye!**

11


	36. Chapter 36: Nightmares Become Reality

**DONE FINALS!!**

**DONE DONE DONE**

**That's all I will say.**

**Well one more thing. I decided that for the sequel to this story I'm going to have it narrated in the first person. Ok? Cool. Sounds good to me.**

**And Happy Christmas to all, and a Merry New Year! (incase I don't post before).**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 36: Nightmares Become Reality**

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**Your POV **

Running away into the woods…how original.

It was too ironic how you found yourself in the same dilemma as you had that day your step brothers were chasing you. Same clothes…totally different situation. It only reminded you of how much you hated/sucked at running, but whatever. It was too late to stop now.

The only thing you could think to do was to run until…well…until someone either caught you, or you passed out from exhaustion. The goal here was to get as far away from all your decisions and goodbyes as fast as you could. You did not look back.

But it would not be a difficult task for middle aged men like Peter, Edmund, and Caspian who were in the best shape of their life to catch you at some point. Not to mention the millions of horses, birds, and other creatures of Narnia who would most likely be able to catch up to you in a moments notice. You were trying not to think about that right now. The key objective was to escape.

But it was hard when you soon heard the soft crunching of leaves not too far behind you. You turned around quickly as you ran, but you didn't see anybody.

A few seconds later, you heard screams.

"Jade! Come back!"

"Jade! It's not safe in there!"

"Please, Jade! Come back!"

Oh no. Now they were coming after you…great. You had only just begun your escape. If they thought that their screams were enough to stop you, they were wrong. And they didn't scare you either. Why would it not be safe in these woods that were just restored and reawakened by Aslan? The Telmarines were gone, there was no threat. There was nothing dangerous or unsafe about these woods.

You were pretty sure.

So, despite all the screams, you kept running away.

Maybe another tree would open up a portal to another completely new world. That would make this decision between Narnia and your home so much easier.

You heard more crackling of leaves behind you and turned around faster this time, trying to get a glimpse of whoever you thought was following you. But still no sight of anyone. Maybe it was just your imagination.

You finally stopped for a moment to catch your breathe. All was silent, save for your fast paced breathes from your running. Your heart felt like it was going to drop out of your stomach, and you clutched your chest to try and ease its beating. But it was no use. You were so tired and it was starting to get a bit dark. And as brave as safe as you thought you were the thought of being in the woods alone at night creeped you out. It was no use running around aimlessly in the woods anymore, you needed to get out.

Then, the sound of rushing water reached your ears. Water…

Maybe that water led to a river or a nearby lake that was outside the forest walls. Surely that would lead you out of the woods before dark.

So you took a few more deep breaths before dashing off once more.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

Back at the meeting, everything was a mess.

"I can't believe she ran away! What are we supposed to do?!" Susan shrieked, her hands shaking. From her past experiences, Susan was probably the most scared for Jade. She knew what awaited her out there.

"Relax, Susan. Everything is going to be fine." Peter said. He placed his hands firmly on his sister's shoulders and calmed down her shaking. Personally, Peter didn't see what the big deal was. It was just Narnia. Jade could hold her own for a few hours, if not, a few days. He didn't understand why Susan was freaking out over nothing. If only he knew. "We'll find her."

"What should we do, Aslan?" Edmund said. He was more concerned with Jade's feeling and the inner turmoil that she was going through. He had felt the same pain many years ago when he and his siblings accidentally when back through the wardrobe to England. He understood her pain. However, Edmund didn't have the choice to go back. He went back unwillingly. The magic of Narnia had made Edmund, as well as his brother and sisters, forget about their home as well. And at the time, if he had known about a past home that he really belonged to, he didn't know if he would choose to stay in Narnia or go back. It was too much to think about, and there was too much too lose.

"Just give her some time alone. That's all she probably wants. She'll come back eventually." Peter said nonchalantly.

"No! We must go after her!" Caspian blurted out.

"Caspian's right." Said Aslan. "We must find her before…others do."

Susan and Caspian locked eyes for a moment, understanding what he meant. They doubted the others understood, and if they were lucky, they never would.

"I doubt she knows her way around Narnia. She could be in real danger." Edmund agreed, still ignorant.

"Her getting lost is the least of our worries." Said Caspian. "But Aslan, what are we supposed to do about the townspeople." He asked. The townspeople had all lined up and gathered to follow the Pevensies and Jade, but the line was brought to a halt when Jade ran away. They were all confused, and if they didn't get through the portal soon they might start to get suspicious.

"Very well, then. I will deal with your people, Caspian. Do not worry." He said. "Go, Kings and Queens of Narnia. Find your friend, go without me."

"But…what if we need your help." Susan said in a serious tone. Aslan understood what she was thinking.

"I think you can manage this on your own." He replied. Susan looked shocked, Aslan never refused help.

So, feeling downtrodden and a bit rejected, the Pevensies and Caspian set off to go find Jade.

……………………………………………………………………

"Jade! Come back!" Screamed Lucy, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was enough that she had said her goodbyes to everyone, now she would have to do it once more. And what's more was that Jade was in the woods all by herself.

"Jade! It's not safe in there!" said Susan, as she thought about all the possible dangerous creatures Jade might encounter.

"Please, Jade! Come back!" Caspian pleaded. This wasn't supposed to happen…none of this was supposed to happen.

Jade wasn't supposed to run away, let alone go home when they eventually found her. Because that was what she was going to do, right? She had already chosen. She had been heading towards the portal. She wanted to go home.

But Caspian should have known that she would do something rash and run away. He knew that Jade was not the normal girl who could just stay still and do what she was told.

He knew that she thought about herself last out of everyone, so it was only typical that she wouldn't think about how her decisions affected herself, but how they affected the ones around her. And that was probably why she froze up, Caspian thought. She was going to go home because she thought it was the right thing to do for everyone else (which it wasn't), but only at that second did she realize that she didn't want to go home after all. Then, did that mean she wanted to stay here in Narnia…with Caspian?

Caspian shook those thoughts away, not wanting to get too hopeful. Even though she ran away from the portal to her home, that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't going to end up going home.

After all, she ran away from him too.

"No sign of her at all." Peter said. "No footprints, no lost shoes, no torn pieces of clothes on trees…no nothing." His shoulders slumped in disappointment. They had been looking for hours now, and it was starting to get dark.

"We'll never find her at this rate." Edmund whined. "These woods are too big…it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"Don't say that, Edmund." Susan chided. "We will find her, we just need to try harder." She glared at Caspian.

"Susan's right." Caspian said, and then he whistled. "We must find her before dark. It's best if we split up."

"Split up?" Lucy asked nervously. She didn't want to be left all alone in these woods. She didn't think she was brave enough.

"Don't worry, Lucy. You'll come with me." Peter said.

"Yes." Caspian agreed. "We'll split up into four. I'll take the South, Susan will take the East, Edmund will take the West, and Peter and Lucy will take the North. On horseback, of course. It's the only way. Jade must have gotten farther away than we expected…there's no telling where she could be.

A moment later, the house of hooves filled the air as Caspian's horses responded to his whistles.

"Are you sure splitting up is the best idea?" Lucy asked nervously.

"I don't think we have much of a choice, Lu." Peter said as he helped her mount the horse that Caspian called for them.

"We will meet back at the castle at sundown. If you find her, go back to the castle immediately and sound the alarm." Caspian said. The rest, all now mounted on their horses, nodded in agreement.

And with that, they set of in different directions to find their friend.

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

You stopped running.

You didn't dare move another inch forward.

You weren't that tired. Sure, your feet were hurting. But you could keep going. That wasn't why you stopped.

You were still lost, in the middle of the woods. You hadn't reached the edge yet. That wasn't why you stopped running either.

Your feet didn't hurt, you didn't run into a monster, you could still see in the now darkened sky, and you didn't hear the sound of anyone chasing you. None of these were the reasons why you had stopped running.

You reached a clearing. You knew the second you stepped into this clearing that something was off. A feeling of dread and familiarity filled the pit of your stomach, and it only doubled once you saw who was standing in the dead center of the clearing, back towards you.

**Caspian.**

"_What?!"_ you thought to yourself. _"What the…who…how the hell did they find me…I didn't hear them at all…"_

Breathing was now officially impossible.

But the worse part was…you were glad that he was here. As much as you thought you should stay away from him and fall for him even more, you couldn't help the fact that he was all you really wanted. Whether it be being in the same room or the somewhere in the same world, it still made you feel secure to know that he was there somewhere.

Maybe that was how love felt.

You could barely see him through the thin trees, but you knew it was him. You could feel his presence. It was a mixture of confusion and utter happiness that filled your gut. It was rather surreal and unique, yet it made you a bit uneasy and uncomfortable.

Maybe that was how love left too.

You decided to make your way towards him. Because he probably knew you were here, so there was no use in trying to run away. And as you walked towards him, you saw the trees before you begin to part as if they were paving out the path that led you to Caspian. It was kinda freaky.

"Caspian." you called to him quietly, as if your voice would break the silence like glass if you raised it too much.

Then he started to run away, and you began to panic. You didn't want to lose him, so you ran after him.

However, as you ran, you began to notice that all of the trees shrunk back. You turned around; they were no longer moved out of your way. Instead, their heads were bowed, and if your ears deceived you, they seemed to be emitting off a sort of growl. You were bewildered…so of them even seemed like they were purposely blocking your way to Caspian.

They didn't seem friendly anymore.

"Caspian, wait up." You said as you almost ran head on into a tree that got into your way at the very last second. That could have ended badly…

You were starting to get a bit scared now, so you continued running over to Caspian. You ran much faster this time, in fear that the trees would strangle you to dead or something cruel. You reached the clearing of the forest, and Caspian was still walking away. It was as if he didn't hear you at all.

"Caspian," you gasped out. He did not even acknowledge that you were there. You wondered if he could even hear you. "Please Caspian, wait up!"

Was he ignoring you?

You angrily stopped in your tracks, tired of fending off vicious tree branches that had made a number of scratches on your face and tree roots constantly trying to trip you.

"Caspian! Stop!" you yelled furiously this time. Your voice echoed throughout the forest, bringing the attention of all the trees and other living beings.

Finally, Caspian seemed to respond to your calls. As if in slow motion, he turned his head around, eyes glaring daggers at you.

You stumbled back a bit, astonished as to why Caspian was looking at you with such intensity.

"Caspian?" you said a fourth time, utterly confused.

You suddenly felt an invasion of déjà vu. Did this already happen somewhere? It felt so familiar. Especially when Caspian turned his whole body completely around towards you. His figure was now facing yours, eyes continuing their attempt to kill you with such a piercing look.

He began to take steps toward you, and for ever step forward he took, you took one backwards.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, venom dripping off ever word. You had never heard Caspian speak with such a tone. It reminded you of…his Uncle.

"What do you mean?" You innocently replied.

"Shouldn't you be back at your home by now? You were just about to leave." He said as he walked toward you with a quicker pace. You continued to back up, but your path was blocked soon enough. You turned around to see the trees of the forest forming a line, preventing you from backing up any further.

With your only route to escape being closed off, Caspian eventually made it over to your side, grasping your upper arm and lifting you up.

"Please, don't tell me you want to stay on my account." This time he spoke, his voice seemed a bit softer. You couldn't, however, pinpoint the sound of his voice. It felt like he had been hurt? No, not just hurt. He felt…sad? Maybe that too…but his tone was not too soft. So he must be feeling…confused? "You might as well just go home. You're no longer wanted here." He said, dropping your fragile form back on the ground. You looked up to him, and gazed into his empty eyes. You understood now.

He felt betrayed. He thought that you were leaving because you didn't want to be with him. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. That wasn't the reason at all.

"Caspian, I'm…sorry. You just don't understand…this is all too hard for me to handle. Really…I'm just trying to make the best decision. I have no idea what I did wrong." You said. Caspian chuckled and evil laugh. It made you cringe…why was he acting this way? So bitter and…well, evil.

"You did nothing wrong." He said, turning around to walk away. "Just leave already. Forget about it."

You reached your hand out to grab his shoulder, but you realized that you could not move. There was a tightening sensation in your stomach, and you looked down to see the branches of the trees holding you back, wrapping you up against their trucks. It was nearly impossible to escape.

"Caspian come back!" you yelled to his retreating form. "I'm not leaving because I want to! I never wanted to leave you!" Tears were now streaming down your eyes as you poured out your heart to the only man who you ever loved this way. Your arms outstretched towards him, trying to reach out to him even though he was getting farther away from you by the minute. "This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make! I'm sorry! I want to be with you! I never lied about that! I really do love you…please believe me! I promise!"

This seemed to ignite something within Caspian. He whipped his head around, but did not dare make a single step towards your direction. His eyes were no longer soft, and that evil gleam came back to his handsome face. However, to you, he did not seem so handsome anymore.

"You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?!" his voice boomed, making you lean back into the tree trunks. "You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! Remember the time when I told you to stay at the How? Well…did you? No! You promised me you wouldn't set foot outside that How, but you did! You lied to me! So how do I know that you're not lying now?!"

You were completely and utterly shocked. How could he even say those things…

"Caspian! Why are you acting this way!" you yelled, your face tear-swollen. "You know that's not true…you should know that I would never lie about something like that. I thought you knew me better than that!"

"I guess I don't…come to think of it, I don't think I ever did. You coming here was a mistake. I never want to see again! Get out of my sight and just leave already." He turned back around, continuing his journey to nowhere.

"What…no" You whispered. "How can you even say that? You wish I never came here?" you said, now becoming extremely hurt at his words. "Well I'll tell you one thing, Caspian. Coming here was the best thing that's ever happened to me! Never in my life did I think I would experience such a place. I never thought I would feel so at home and peace in a place that I never even knew existed! I don't regret coming here, and I certainly don't regret meeting you. And for you to say that me coming here was a mistake makes me want to rip my very soul to shreds! I love you so much it hurts!" you said, the words rolling off you tongue unexpectedly. You were shocked at your outbreak, but did not regret your confession.

"I want to be with so much…" you whispered.

Caspian's form froze at your statement and he spoke back in an even lower whisper.

"Well I don't want to be with you." He said. He turned around, so you could see the stone cold expression that demented his facial features. It just didn't fit him. "You already chose. You don't get a second chance." He looked you straight in the eyes, and you looked back.

But then, he was back to walking away again. You struggled against the thick tree branches, but they would not budge.

"Caspian, wait!" you called out desperately, tears brimming your eyes as well now. "Caspian, please! Don't leave me here!"

The trees then began to shake you back and forth, torturing you even further as their grip seemed to be slowly suffocating you. You twisted and turned, arms and legs kicking and scratching, trying anything in order to break free. But you could not…and you felt helpless.

Weak…unloved…confused…alone…helpless.

You could not hold it in any longer, and more tears began to stream down your face as you continued to thrash about.

Then, once Caspian was out of sight, the tree branches all at once shrank away. You didn't care. Their tights grips against you were the only things that kept you standing, and once they retreated, you let yourself fall helplessly to the floor in a heap.

You felt pathetic.

What had become of you now? Is this what you had been reduced to? A shaking lump on the ground that told the dark story of a girl with a torn conscious and a broken heart? You knew you didn't deserve to be here in Narnia, or even to be with someone as amazing as Caspian, but was _this_ really what you deserved? Were you really that bad of a person? You disgusted yourself.

It felt like ages that you had been on the ground, crying away the pain that would never ease, until a voice brought you out of your world.

"Oh… what'sssss wrong, my dear." The voice hissed. You head snapped up, and your green eyes locked with narrow, yellow ones.

"Who are you…" you said quietly.

"Oh…don't be afraid, my dear. I only want to help." The creature hissed. And even though the sight of it sent shivers down your spine, you did not flee. Right now, you were open to affection from anything or anyone that was offering. Anything to end the suffering.

You sniffed, holding back tears.

"Ohhh, don't cry me dear. Pleassssse." It cooed. "Tell me all your problemsssss. I'm here to lissssten."

And against all your reason and judgment, you told of your dilemma to the green snake that lay before you.

……………………………………………………………………

**Gasp!!! Uh-oh…what happens now?**

**Guess you'll just have to wait until next time. Yes, I know I'm evil…you don't have to tell me :) **

**But really, thanks for reading and sorry for the cliffhangers. I'll be sure to post soon. Maybe I'll give you all a Christmas present…but who knows? Just review!**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!**

10


	37. Chapter 37: The Third Illusion

**Ok sweet well I hope everyone had a good Christmas and got everything they wanted! **

**And to answer a few questions. I'm not 100% sure how many more chapters there are going to be in this story, but if I had to estimate with my knowledge of everything that's going to happen, I'd say after this chapter there will be about 5-10 more. So it's almost over! But not quite.**

**My goal is to have the story done by the end of my winter break/the end of January. That way, when summer starts I can begin writing the sequel. And I wouldn't want to keep you guys hanging that long again ;) **

**And the sequel is going to be AWESOME so you all better stay dedicated readers because I have so many good ideas! But enough of that I have to finish this story first!**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 37: The Third Illusion**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

"Who are you anyways?" you asked the snake suspiciously.

"Well, I think I sssshould be the one assssking you that quessstion." The snake snapped back impatiently. "You don't exactly look like you belong here in Narnia, daughter of Eve." He continued, eyeing your clothing.

You hated to admit it, but this snake did have a point. Talking animals were all but the normality here in Narnia. There was nothing uncommon about that. However, as far as you knew about Narnia's history, the Pevensie siblings were the only people you knew who had lived here in Narnia. Not to mention the way you were dressed.

"That's because I don't." you said solemnly. "I don't belong here…I shouldn't even be here."

"And yet, here you are." The snake replied with a chuckle. Was he mocking you or something?

"I didn't choose to come here, you know." You replied nastily. The snake remained silent, signaling you to continue. "I didn't choose this. I'm still not even sure how I got here in the first place. I just kinda…appeared."

"Hmm…what do you mean by that?" the snake asked curiously.

"I dunno…well, I know why I'm here. I just don't know exactly how I appeared here. I was brought here by…someone…" you trailed off. You really didn't want to elaborate how you tripped through a twisting tree and miraculously found yourself in a completely different time and world.

"Oh, you mean Assslan?" the snake asked.

"No," you said, "he didn't bring me here. Someone else did. I'm supposed to be the one that closes all the doors to Narnia."

"Ohhh…ssso you're the chosssen one, then?" the snake cooed.

"Don't rub it in. But if you must know, yes. I am the "chosen one" who was brought here to save to Narnia and then live happily ever after with prince charming. Why it has to be me, I have no idea. But…you know what? They can forget it! I don't have to do anything now!" you said. You stood up, now more confident. You just realized something.

"Issss that why you were crying, my dear?"

"I was right all along…" you said to yourself, ignoring the snake's words. "I was…I knew it! I knew Caspian was only using me! How could I ever think…that's why he was so mad at me! But I really thought that…no! He told me I wasn't needed anymore! And that's because he thought I was going to go home and not help them! But now… now that I refused to help them…they don't need me anymore…" you trailed off, your own words upsetting you.

"Isss sssomething wrong?" the snake asked.

You heard the snake's words, but ignored them. So, it really was all true then? Usually, you were completely wrong every time you jumped to conclusions. That's why you tried to forget about the night when Aslan had explained everything to you and you yelled at him and Caspian. Because at the time, you were just so mad at them. You had accused Aslan of something he had no power in doing, and you misjudged Caspian's intentions and feelings towards you.

Or at least, you thought you did.

But now, the way things were piecing together, it just seemed so obvious that your original instincts were completely true. That Caspian had never actually had true feelings for you. It was really all just a bunch of lies…an act…a trap. And you were too stupid to realize that you had been right from the beginning.

You let your feelings get the better of you, and now look what happened.

"I can't believe it…" you whispered, "I…I told him everything."

At that second, you regretted every single word you said to Caspian…every single feeling from the deepest depths of you heart that you accidentally spilled at his disposal. Because it all meant nothing to him. He just wanted his kingdom to be fortified by the sealing of every single door that led out of Narnia. And that's where you came in.

"And the worst part is," you said turning to the snake you looked up at you with narrowed yellow eyes, "I meant it. Everything I said to him… I meant it all. I really did love him." You could feel your eyes begin to water, but the anger that was coursing inside of you balanced out the pain, and you resisted the urge to let the tears fall.

"Love…pfffssss." The snake spat. "Love, love, love. That'sss all anyone caresss about thessse daysss…and look how they end up. It's a wassste of time if you asssk me."

"That's not true…" you said meekly. "For what it's worth, love is an amazing experience…while it last." You weakly defended.

"Look who'sss talking." The snake hissed. "You know that'sss not true. Love isss more trouble that it'sss worth. Jussst look at what happened to you, my poor dear."

"_Love isn't the cause of pain or suffering. Much the opposite. It doesn't always end badly and it most certainly does not result in everlasting sorrow."_

"_I'm sure you would think otherwise if you were in Venus's shoes, now wouldn't you?" the Professor asked._

"_No, not at all! Love is…" you were not stumped by the Professor's statement, but you were finding it hard to pinpoint exactly what love was. "Love is…umm…love is love, you know? I believe that is brings about the best in people, not the worst. Love is the cause of happiness, not sorrow."_

"_I understand, Jade," said the Professor, "But picture yourself as Venus. You were madly in love with someone, and all of a sudden, they left, leaving you alone in the world. Would you not feel empty and despise other couples who were madly in love as you once were? Wouldn't you wish for their unhappiness as well?"_

"_I…I might be a bit envious…but I would never want anyone so in love to suffer like Venus had. That wouldn't make anything better. It wouldn't bring Adonis back, that's for sure." You finished._

"That's not true, love isn't more trouble that it's worth. It isn't the cause of pain or suffering either. It doesn't always end badly and it most certainly does not result in everlasting sorrow." You said, remembering your words from that night you watched the stars with Caspian and his Professor told you stories.

"Only a fool who hasss never experienced love would sssay that." The snake replied.

Curse him for being right once more. It was true. When you had spoken those seemingly wise words to the Professor, you had been nothing but a fool; ignorant and inexperienced to both the joys and evils of love. You had no idea what you were thinking when you said those words, and only now did you realize how wrong you were. How could you have been so stupid…

"You should be mad at thisss…Cassspian. I can tell he hasss causssed you a great deal of pain. Don't you want to caussse him pain asss well." The snake tempted.

And thus began the battle of utter turmoil inside your head.

"No! Of course not!" you gasped. "I could never do that! It's not like he…deserves it." You said slowly.

"Or doesss he." The snake cooed. You remained indifferent, the battle still raging on inside you.

To hate Caspian, or to not hate Caspian…that was the ultimate question. Could you really be mad at him? I mean…he was only doing what he thought best for his kingdom. But at your expense! No way! How dare he think that he could take advantage of you that way! Who did he think he was? He may be the King of Narnia, but that didn't give him the right to treat you like complete shit. Even if you did love him…how dare he take advantage of your feeling for him and use you like that.

You remembered how you had recently yelled at Caspian, claiming that he should know you better than to be the kind of person who would lie about their feelings.

"_This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make! I'm sorry! I want to be with you! I never lied about that! I really do love you…please believe me! I promise!"_

"_You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?! You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! Remember the time when I told you to stay at the How? Well…did you? No! You promised me you wouldn't set foot outside that How, but you did! You lied to me! So how do I know that you're not lying now?!"_

"_Caspian! Why are you acting this way! You know that's not true…you should know that I would never lie about something like that. I thought you knew me better than that!"_

"_I guess I don't…come to think of it, I don't think I ever did. You coming here was a mistake. I never want to see again! Get out of my sight and just leave already." _

How could he…

Not only did he completely lie to you, but he had also tried to turn the tables on **you** and make **you** feel like the bad guy. When really, it was he who was lying about his feelings and it was you who didn't know him like you thought he did. All this sudden information was making your head hurt and your heart ache.

Narnia didn't seem like much of a paradise anymore.

And just like you felt that night you fought with Aslan and Caspian, you wanted to be rid of this horrid place immediately. You instantly stood up and began walking back in the direction that you thought you had come from. You were going to march straight back to Aslan and demand that you go home at once.

And this time, you wouldn't hesitate to walk straight through that portal. You wanted to go home and see your sister.

"Wait, my dear. Where are you going?" the snake asked as he followed you.

You didn't dare stop, even though the sky was nearly pitch dark and you could barely see the trees before you. You would not stop until you were back where you belonged…home.

"I'm going back. Back home. I'm tired of this place." You spat back.

"Ssso you're going to go back home through the portal? The one that Aslan opened for you?" the snake asked.

"Yes." You replied.

"Well, my dear. That sssoundsss a bit foolish to me." The snake hissed.

You stopped walking and faced the snake. You hadn't really gotten that far, you were still in the middle of the clearning where Caspian had left you. His beady yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. "What do you mean?" you asked.

"Well, think about it. Are you really going to trussst Assslan to sssend you back to your home?" he said. "Even if he wasss sssending you back to your home and not to your death, it would be jussst asss easssily to bring you back. Isss there even a point in going home?"

"Huh…I never thought about that." You said, feeling a bit defeated. "But...what other choice have I got? I'm not going to just stay here and let them have their way with me. I'm not going to let them win!"

"Well lucky for you, I have the anssswer." The snake said. You looked at him expectantly. "Assslan may be wissse and powerful, and he may even know of the deep magic that Narnia beholdsss. But…there are sssecretsss in thisss world that even he hasss not dissscovered."

"What do you mean? Who are you anyways." You asked a bit suspiciously.

"My dear, I am nothing but a friend to you. I am only here to help. You don't have to trussst me, I will underssstand. But if I were to sssend you home, I would ensssure that Assslan would not be able to call you back again." He said kindly.

"So…you can you make portals too?" you asked him. As much as your conscious was screaming at you to not trust him, you had apparently misjudged everyone here in Narnia. So the best thing to do would be to start going against you gut feeling and just do what you wanted to do.

"Yesss I can. And I can take you home right here, right now if that is what you wishhh." said the snake.

You eyed him once more, searching for any clues to prove that he was dangerous. But as far as you could tell, he was harmless. All he had done was listen to your problems and offer you help. You would be a fool to turn him down.

"Hmm…alright then." You agreed. "If you would be so kind…I'll take you up on your offer. I'd like to go home now."

A satisfied hiss echoed through the dark forest. And as the moon rose up above the trees, letting moonlight pour into the clearing, you watched the snake's mouth twist into somewhat of a smile.

"Very well then, my friend. I'd be honored to help you." He cooed. "Just look into my eyes, and you'll be home in no time…"

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV **

Hours had gone by, and still no sign of Jade or any signaling of horns from the castle. That meant that Jade still hadn't been found, and time was running out. Caspian looked up to the skies and saw the stars twinkling through the trees. It was pretty late, and very dark. He and the others were supposed to meet back at the castle at sundown, but he just didn't know when to give up.

What was the point of finding Jade anyways? Just so that she could go home sooner? It troubled his heart to think that she was so unhappy here and wanted to go home so badly. That night at the dance after his Coronation Ceremony…she had been so mad. She looked so angry…betrayed. If looks could kill, Caspian would have died that night. She had accused him of the most ridiculous things, and didn't even give him a second to defend himself.

"_But…Jade! What are you doing? You can't go back. You have to stay here…with me…you have to-"_

"_I don't __have__ to do anything, Caspian! Just leave me alone!" _

But despite all of that, he still loved her more than anything and prayed that she wouldn't choose to go home. Because, a life without Jade…well…that wouldn't be much of a life at all. He didn't think he could bear it if she did indeed choose to go home. But…she had. And now, his entire life was crashing down and falling apart before his very eyes. And yet, he still continued to search for her.

But at this rate and under these circumstances, he would never find her. It was just too dark and he had no idea where he was going. Sure, the better choice would be for him to go back to the castle, where the Pevensies probably were by now, but the thought of Jade being out here by himself didn't sit well with his conscious. He just had to find her…and fast.

He quickly felt around his saddle and belt, making sure that everything was secure. His sword, shield, and armor were all in place. As he patted down his pockets, he realized that he still had Queen Susan's horn. He made a reminder to give it back to her the next time he saw here.

But just then, as he finished rearranging the reigns on his horse, he saw something peculiar appear in the distance. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, and what he saw puzzled him.

If his eyes did not deceive him, then there really was something yellow glowing in the distance. How odd…especially at this time of night. After all, he had spent many a night out in these woods once he escaped from his Uncle. But he had never seen anything like this before.

He immediately kicked his horse and led him in the direction of the glowing light. He made sure not to lead his horse too fast, just incase he might scare away the mysterious glowing.

Something didn't feel right. It didn't feel right at all. The closer he got to the source of the yellow light, the more clearly he could hear the sound of voices. He kept on riding, though, determined to discover the source of the light and noise.

Soon enough, the muffling noises became clear words.

"Yesss I can. And I can take you home right here, right now if that is what you wishhh."

Now that didn't sound at all like an creature that Caspian knew lived in Narnia. It sounded much like a hiss…the sound that could only come from one thing…but it couldn't be.

"If you would be so kind…I'll take you up on your offer. I'd like to go home now."

Now that voice was all too familiar. Caspian knew all too well what was going on. The worst that could possibly happen happened.

The Serpent had found Jade before he had. And when the moonlight shone into the clearing, Caspian flinched at the sight before him. It was Jade, and she was face to face with one of Narnia's most dangerous and evil threats.

"Very well then, my friend. I'd be honored to help you. Just look into my eyes, and you'll be home in no time."

"NO!" Caspian shouted. "Jade! Stay away from him!" he called. He kicked his horse to go faster, and he reached into his pocket and pull out Susan's horn. He blew into it at once, letting out a deafening note into the woods.

And before he knew it, the Pevensies were right beside him; riding side by side towards The Serpent and Jade as well. That horn really did come in handy sometimes…

"It's Jade!" Caspian yelled. "And she's with The Serpent!" Caspian called out to the Kings and Queens of Old.

"The what?" Peter and Edmund asked at the same time. Caspian didn't expect them to know what he was talking about. He was sure that only he and Susan knew about The Serpent from the stories that his Professor told them. But little did he know that Aslan had told Lucy of its powers. She knew more about the dangers than all of them.

"Jade! Don't look into its eyes!" Lucy yelled.

But it was no use. They couldn't reach her in time. Caspian and the poor Pevensies could only watch as the glowing yellow eyes turned to red, and Jade's small form fell to the ground.

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

"Very well then, my friend. I'd be honored to help you." He cooed. "Just look into my eyes, and you'll be home in no time…"

You did exactly what the snake told you to do, until a voice in the distance broke your eye contact with the snake. He let out a growl followed by a disappointed hiss.

"NO!" You heard Caspian.

"What the…" you said dumbfounded. To turned around to the source of the voice. In the near distance, you saw Caspian heading toward you on horseback. "Caspian?" you said in wonder.

"Jade! Stay away from him!" Caspian continued to yell. What did he want now?

"What's he doing?" you asked confusedly. Hadn't he yelled at you earlier and told you to go home? What could possibly have gotten into him?

"He'sss trying to ssstop you! He doesssn't want you to-" just then, a piercing sound echoed throughout the forest. It sounded like a horn. And after the sound of the horn deceased, it was replaced by the sound of numerous horses. You looked back again to see all the Pevensies on horseback riding towards you.

"What the-"

"Look into my eyesss now! They are trying to keep you here…they won't let you leave once they catch you! Essscape now while you can! Look into my eyesss!" the snake demanded.

"Jade! Don't look into its eyes!" you heard Lucy yell. Lucy…everyone had always said how Lucy was always right and you should always listen to her…

"They know you are trying to essscape! They want to ssstop you from going home! Look into my eyesss if you ever intend on ssseeing you baby sssissster again!" the snake hissed.

And that was all it took for you to peel your eyes away from your so-called friends that you had grown to love and back into the yellow eyes of the snake that you had met only an hour ago. You gazed intently into the snake's eyes, waiting for the portal to form.

Two, narrow slits of red were the last thing you saw before your mind went black…and you knew no more.

……………………………………………………………………

**Ahh…yes. Evil is my middle name. There's really nothing like a good cliffhanger to end a chapter.**

**Seriously though…please don't kill me…**

**But anyways, despite the usual evil cliffhanger, I hope you all enjoyed the story and would love it if you all REVIEWED!**

**Next chapter will be up before the New Year. So…I leave you all until then. Hope you're all having a great break! Thankyou and goodnight!**

10


	38. Chapter 38: Ignorance is Bliss

**HELLO 2009!!!**

**Well I hope everyone had a fabulous New Year!**

**Back so soon right? Yeah, you know I felt bad for keeping you all on edge with that last chapter. And I'm so close to the end that it's hard for me to stop writing! You guys are all just so dedicated readers and I want to give you the end ASAP!**

**And as for the sequel, yes it will be in the first person and it will revolve around the book the ****Voyage of the Dawn Treador****. However, as I said, it's going to revolve around the book, since the movie isn't going to come out until next year. And I'm kind of worried that there will be a bit of a conflict since my current fanfic revolves around the movie Prince Caspian (and the book and movie Prince Caspian were NOTHING alike).**

**But oh well, I guess it won't be that much of a big deal. I'll just have to reread the book and make due :)**

**And for this chapter, as well as ****The Space In Between****, there is kind of a Kingdom Hearts feel to it…so sorry again! I just love the script in the game and its dialogue is perfect for this fanfic. But just to be safe…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Narnia, but I do own this fanfic. I also do not own anyone or anything from Kingdom Hearts, but I do own this fanfic.**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 38: Ignorance is Bliss**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

You couldn't believe your very eyes. It all seemed too surreal to be true, like a long forgotten memory. It was like everything that happened the day after you fell through that tree was a dream. And now, that dream was over…leaving you with the reality that you longed to wake up to. It was finally over, and you were finally home.

You found yourself standing in your kitchen. The sound of rushing water and clanking dishes drifted past your ears. You rubbed your eyes for a few seconds. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore…did that snake really send you home? It sure seemed like it. And when you opened your eyes again, a smile came to your features when you found yourself still standing in the middle of your kitchen. This wasn't a dream…this was real. Your eyes weren't deceiving you, you really were in your house.

"Jade, could you help me with the dishes?" a voice called to you. You hadn't heard that voice in months…but it felt like years.

You whipped your head to the sound of your mother's voice. And sure enough, she was the source of the water and clanking. She was washing the dishes.

"_Oh my god…running water!" _you thought to yourself, recalling how in Narnia you would have to bathe and wash your clothes in the stream. You had all but forgotten about the joys of indoor plumbing.

And with all these rushing emotions and realization flowing through your brain, you couldn't seem to move from where you stood. You just stood there, disbelieving and dumbfounded.

"Jade? I said 'could you please help me with the dishes?'" you heard again.

This was all real. It really was. From where you were standing you could see the large calendar that hung from the refrigerator. The current date was Friday, June 14th 2008.

"I'm back in my time…" you said in a barely audible whisper that only you could here.

You continued to scan the calendar, and when you did you noted how the date right below today's date, Friday, June 21st, had a big red "X" in the middle of it along with the scribbling "Last Day of School!" It took a lot to keep your jaw from dropping to the ground.

June 14th…that was the day you left! A week before the end of the school year, and two months from the day you would leave to College in England. You remembered because that was the day that you had your dreaded math final. And then, when you would show Ryan your answers, him and Ben tried to beat you up after school…and that's when you ran away and-

"Jade! Are you deaf?" you whipped back around to face your mother. She was staring at you disapprovingly with a wet rag in her hands. "Please come help me with the dishes."

You jerked in your spot. If felt a bit odd, this new world. You hadn't been in your home for so long, and you felt like more of a stranger in this house. But you didn't want your mom to get mad at your, so you quickly rushed to her side and grabbed the wet towel out of her hands and got to work at once. She smiled approvingly as the two of your worked on the dishes side by side.

"So, hun, how was school?" she asked you kindly. "How was your day? I know you had that tough math final." You almost dropped the dish you were holding. Did your mom really just ask you how your day was?

That was completely out of character for her. Usually, she didn't even talk to you unless she needed something or wanted you to help her with work. That's why it wasn't out of the ordinary when she asked you to help her with the dishes. But now…she was acting like she actually cared about you? You were pretty sure that whole motherly attitude had disappeared the day she started dating Tyler.

Oh great…Tyler and his three sons. You couldn't wait until they got home…

"Umm…I guess I did alright. There was this one problem I couldn't figure out, but I think I did pretty well." You replied timidly. Why was she acting like this? "But, other than that, school was good."

"Oh! That's my girl!" your mom said. She laid her dish in the sink and wrapped you in a loving hug. You froze. She squeezed you as tight as she could before placing a light kiss on the top of your head. You didn't know how to react. "You were always bright… that's why I always knew you'd get into a good college. I'm so proud of you!" She praised.

Ok, now you were starting to freak out a bit. If you weren't mistaken, then your mom just…kissed you. That was completely out of character.

"Umm…thanks mom. No sweat. But…I mean…Cumbria University is alright. It's a good school, but…nothing great." You humbly replied. (**By the way,** **Cumbria College of Arts and Design is a real college in England that majors in Journalism and creative writing!).**

Your mom looked at you weirdly. "Cumbria College? Where's that?" she asked.

You turned to her, disbelieving. "Cumbria College, mom. It's in England." you said, but she still looked confused. "That's the College I got into…remember. I'm leaving August 14th for orientation."

Your mother began to laugh, while you stood before her a bit flustered. "Oh, Jade. Don't be silly! You know your father and I could never afford to send you abroad to college! I don't know where you got the idea that you're going to this College in England…you're going to Syracuse." **(Syracuse University is a real college in New York.)**

"Wait…what?" you asked dumbly. You stopped doing the dishes and stared at your mom.

"Jade, is something wrong?" your mother asked tenderly. You dropped the dishes you were holding and sprinted back to the calendar on the fridge. "What's gotten into you?"

You skipped a few pages until you reached the month of August. However, there was no big red "X" on the date of August 14th like there should be. Instead, the date of August 20th was circled with the scribbling "Jade leaves for Syracuse :( Good luck honey!"

"But…but…" you stared at the calendar, disbelieving. Syracuse had been the dream college that you had wanted to get into so badly your sophomore and junior. However, as far as you could remember, you didn't get into it. You remembered that fateful day when you received your letter of rejection. You were really upset, but were eventually consoled with the fact that by going to college in England and you would be on a completely different continent from your family. Plus, you had always wanted to live in England, so things actually turned out the way you wanted them to. But still… "How is this all even possible?" You turned back to your mother who looked worried, and a bit frightened. "I'm supposed to be going to Cumbria, not Syracuse! I didn't even get into Syracuse!" you shrieked.

Your mom looked at you for a moment, before a sly smile crept on her face. She reached behind her back and grabbed the spray hose that was connect to the sink. And she sprayed you with water.

You let out a shriek from the cold water, and tried to cover yourself. But your mom was persistent. All she did was laugh at your quivering form.

"Mom! Stop! What the…" but your mom wouldn't stop, and she just kept laughing.

"Oh, quit fooling around Jade!" your mom laughed. "Drop the act, I know you're joking. And don't ever scare me like that again! I actually thought for a second that my daughter was half insane!" She said as she stopped the spraying. You looked up to her in complete and utter shock. What the hell was that all about?

"What the hell, mom?" you cursed. She raised her hose once more.

"Hey, watch your language, young lady. There will be no cursing under my roof." She threatened as she waved the hose at you. That's funny. Because when Ryan, Ben, and Mike were in the house, it was like watching the movie The Boondock Saints. Ever other word was either fuck, bitch, or shit.

But before you could think any more, your mom started to spray you again. And despite all reason, you laughed along with her. You had never had this kind of connection or fun with your mom before, and you wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. So as you slipped and screamed with your mom in the kitchen, you completely forgot about everything else and just focused on how much fun you were having. You didn't even hear the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Mom! Stop! Seriously! I won't curse again!" you yelled, waving your hands in defeat. She stopped spraying you, and the two of you just laughed at the mess you made.

"I'm not cleaning that up."

Your body froze.

Now, that definitely could not be true. That voice…

"Honey! You're home early!" your mom said as she walked by you. You didn't dare turn around.

"Yep. And I saved Jade a trip by picking up this little monster!" you heard the voice say, along with the laughter from a young girl.

"Monster?" your mom laughed. "What did you do this time?" More laughter.

"I gave Stacy and Bobby haircuts!" the voice of a young girl replied enthusiastically. "I made them beautiful!"

"Hmm, I'm sure you did." Your mom said. "But, you didn't make them look…_too_ beautiful, did you?" she asked, this question more directed to the other person in the room.

"No, thankfully they were just trims." That voice said. You still refused to turn around.

"Well then, that's good." Your mom signed. "What did the teacher have to say about that?"

"She said no more haircuts." The voice replied. "Sorry, Alex. But it looks like you're out of business. No more haircuts for your classmates."

"What about my Barbie dolls? Can I give them haircuts?" Alex answered innocently. Your mother and the other person laughed.

"You can give your Barbies all the haircuts you want!" your mom said.

"Well that's that. Now Alex, why don't you show your mother and Jade the picture you drew in school today." The voice said.

You were beginning to panic now. What had that snake done to you? Was this all some sick and twisted joke?

"Jade! I have a present for you!" you heard your sister squeal. And as scared as you were for what you were about to see, you turned around.

And there they were… your family. There was your mom, kneeling before your sister, Alex, and looking at the picture she drew. And behind Alex stood the person who you never expected to see again.

Your father.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV **

"Oh no, we're too late!" Lucy said. Caspian and the others halted their horses once they reached the clearing. The red glowing eyes turned back to yellow, and the snake turned to them all with a triumphant smirk.

"What do you mean we're too late?" Caspian asked nervously as his gaze lingered on Jade's limp body.

"That's the Serpent's Third Illusion! Now Jade is stuck in his world forever!" she replied.

"Lucy, what are you talking about?" Peter asked.

"Wait a minute…is that the same snake that got away from us when Nikabrik brought back Jadis?" Edmund asked.

"Yes!" Lucy said. "And now he's got Jade!"

"Indeed I do, my dear." The snake cooed. Caspian jumped off his horse and unsheathed his sword. Peter and Edmund were by his side instantly.

"What have you done to her?!" he demanded. The snake let out a haughty laugh, that sounded somewhere between a hiss and a cackle.

"What doesss it matter now, boy. You cannot sssave her where ssshe is now." The snake coolly replied.

"What have you done?!" Caspian demanded again.

The snake laughed again. "What have I done? My duty to the downfall of mankind…that'sss what I have done!" He said. "Now, your preciousss kingdom of Narnia will fall! Jade isss gone…and the doorsss are ssstill open…and they will remain ssso. Never will peace be brought back to Narnia! Never! In due time…more piratesss and pioneersss will find there way to thisss land…and Narnia will succumb to attacksss and invasssionsss from the world of the Kingsss and Queensss of Old. War will rage on between the two worldsss until both end up dessstroying the other. Death and everlasssting war…that isss what the future beholdsss! This whole worl will return to the darkness from which it was born!"

"How horrible…" Lucy whispered.

"What kind of monster are you!?" Peter yelled.

"Bring Jade back! Now!" Caspian yelled.

"I told you already, boy! Where Jade isss, you cannot reach her. Ssshe isss in my world now, and I do not intend on bringing her back! You cannot sssave her…"

Caspian let out a cry of fury as he prepared to charge at the snake, but Peter and Edmund blocked his path.

"Get out of my way." Caspian said menacingly.

"No, Caspian. You don't know what he's capable of!" Peter scolded. "Don't make rash decisions! What do you think you're doing?!" Caspian tried to push past Edmund and Peter, but they were too strong. Yet, he was still persistent to rip that snake's head off with his bear hands. Peter wouldn't stand in the way of him rescuing Jade again.

"I'm going to save Jade! Now, get out of my way!" he yelled.

"How many timesss must I tell you, arrogant Prince! You cannot sssave her!"

"I will find a-"

"Fool! You cannot sssave people from themssselves!" the snake roared. This seemed to catch Caspian's attention. He focused his menacing glare more intently at the Serpent.

"What do you mean by that." He said in a low, trembling voice.

"Sssuch foolsss…the lot of you!" said the snake. "What…without your preciousss Assslan here to sssave the day, you are nothing more than a bunch of pathetic, ussselesss children. Immature children…with weaponsss. That isss all I sssee. You know nothing! And thossse who know nothing, can underssstand _nothing._"

"That's not true!" Lucy yelled, but the snake quickly silenced her.

"It isss not your bravery, but your ignorance and immaturity that givesss you the courage to ssspeak sssuch wordsss! You underssstand ssso little, young one. And your intensssionsss will only result in meaninglesss effortsss."

And right before their eyes, the scenery changed. Caspian and the Pevensies no longer found themselves in the clearing of the forest, but rather in the kitchen of a strange house. And before them stood Jade. She was embracing a tall man with dark hair that matched her own. Caspian watched intently as she pulled away from the tall man, and knelt down to the floor so that she was at eye level with a young girl. If Caspian had to image what Jade would have looked like ten years ago, that little girl would be it. It was like they were twins born years apart. Jade didn't waste any time in embracing the young girl as much as she did the man. Surely, this must be her family.

But Caspian was confused. He had definitely remembered Jade telling him of how her father died when she was six. Surely she would not lie about something like that. And what about her three step-brothers? So…what exactly was going on?

But before Caspian could ponder this anymore, the imagery before him began to dissolve away, and the Serpent's Second Illusion was coming to an end.

"Wait! Jade!" Caspian called with his free hand outstretched in her direction. But it was no use. Soon enough, Caspian was back to facing the Serpent, and the image of Jade's smiling face felt like more of a dream. He could of sworn that Jade was looking straight at him before she disappeared.

"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach her where ssshe isss." The snake spat. "Asss I sssaid before, you cannot sssave people from themssselvesss. It is futile to try to sssave thossse who do not wisssh to be sssaved."

"Caspian…" Lucy said in a whisper. Caspian, as well as the other Pevensies, turned to face Lucy and hear what she had to say. "He's right, Jade is in a completely different world. It's his Third Illusion, Aslan told me all about it. If you look straight into his eyes when they are red, then you are immediately trapped in his world. And his world can be anything he desires. He has the ability to see his victim's memories and thoughts, therefore being able to create a suitable world for the victim."

"Well…I'm glad you told us this all before something bad happened." Edmund said sarcastically. Lucy looked like she was about to cry from Edmund's comment, so Peter elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't listen to him, Lu. It's not your fault." Said Susan. She wrapped her arms comfortingly around her sister.

"Susan's right. Besides, there's got to be some way around this illusion. I don't think Aslan would have trusted us here alone if there wasn't. He believes in us." Peter said confidently.

"But still…why wouldn't Aslan warn us about this? And why is that snake after Jade in the first place?" asked Edmund.

"I don't know. It's almost like…he knew this was going to happen… but didn't do anything to stop it." Lucy said. "And he's after Jade so she doesn't close the doors. He probably wanted to get rid of her."

"Well then why wouldn't he just kill her instead of trapping her in his world?" Edmund asked. Again, Peter stabbed him in the stomach while everyone glared at him. "Ouch! Sorry! I was just thinking out loud!"

"It's more painful…" Caspian whispered. "…to know that she is still alive…but gone. To have someone you deeply care for trapped in an illusion for the rest of eternity…it's even worse than death." Everyone was silent.

"It's almost like…she belongs to him." Lucy said. At this comment, Caspian directed his attention away from the group and back to the snake.

"How did this all happen. What did you do to her?!" said Caspian.

"I did nothing. Ssshe wasss willing." He replied.

"I find that hard to believe." Said Peter.

The snake smiled. "Hmm…ssso you wisssh to sssee more? Very well then…"

And once again, the Caspian and the Pevensies were back in the Serpent's Second Illusion. Only this time, it was different. From what they could gather, it seemed like the snake was showing them events that already happened. They were in the same clearing, but the scenario was different. Caspian saw Jade as well as…himself?

This was definitely not true. Caspian was positive that he had never encountered Jade this night.

"_Caspian! Stop!" _

"_What are you still doing here?" _

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Shouldn't you be back at your home by now? You were just about to leave. Please, don't tell me you want to stay on my account." _

"_Caspian, I'm…sorry. You just don't understand…this is all too hard for me to handle. Really…I'm just trying to make the best decision. I have no idea what I did wrong." _

"_You did nothing wrong. Just leave already. Forget about it."_

Caspian cringed at the exchange before him. Never in his life would he say such things to Jade. He loved her to much to let her go like that. What kind of dirty trick was this.

"_Caspian come back! I'm not leaving because I want to! I never wanted to leave you! This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make! I'm sorry! I want to be with you! I never lied about that! I really do love you…please believe me! I promise!" _

She loved him…

"_You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?! You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! Remember the time when I told you to stay at the How? Well…did you? No! You promised me you wouldn't set foot outside that How, but you did! You lied to me! So how do I know that you're not lying now?!"_

Caspian cringed again. But not only from the words his imposter was saying, but from the look on Jade's face. It would give him nightmares for years.

"_Caspian! Why are you acting this way? You know that's not true…you should know that I would never lie about something like that. I thought you knew me better than that!"_

"_I guess I don't…come to think of it, I don't think I ever did. You coming here was a mistake. I never want to see again! Get out of my sight and just leave already." _

"_What…no. __How can you even say that? You wish I never came here? Well I'll tell you one thing, Caspian. Coming here was the best thing that's ever happened to me! Never in my life did I think I would experience such a place. I never thought I would feel so at home and peace in a place that I never even knew existed! I don't regret coming here, and I certainly don't regret meeting you. And for you to say that me coming here was a mistake makes me want to rip my very soul to shreds! I love you so much it hurts! I want to be with so much…" _

Caspian could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Everything Jade was saying was so pure…straight from her heart. He believed her, and how badly he wanted to be there to tell her how much more he loved her back. But…he had let her run away. And now, she thought that he hated her…that he wanted her to leave…and most importantly, that he thought that she was a mistake.

That couldn't be farther from the truth.

"_Well I don't want to be with you. You already chose. You don't get a second chance." _

"_Caspian, please! Don't leave me here!"_

A few minutes passed of them soundlessly watching Jade cry on the ground, all alone. Caspian could hear the stifled whimpers of Susan and Lucy, but he tried to ignore them. And then, he saw the snake appear into the clearing and come up to Jade.

"_I was right all along…I was…I knew it! I knew Caspian was only using me! How could I ever think…that's why he was so mad at me! But I really thought that…no! He told me I wasn't needed anymore! And that's because he thought I was going to go home and not help them! But now… now that I refused to help them…they don't need me anymore…" _

"_I can't believe it…I…I told him everything. And the worst part is… I meant it. Everything I said to him… I meant it all. I really did love him." _

"_Love, love, love. That'sss all anyone caresss about thessse daysss…and look how they end up. It's a wassste of time if you asssk me."_

"_That's not true…For what it's worth, love is an amazing experience…while it last." _

"_Look who'sss talking. You know that'sss not true. Love isss more trouble that it'sss worth. Jussst look at what happened to you, my poor dear."_

"_That's not true, love isn't more trouble that it's worth. It isn't the cause of pain or suffering either. It doesn't always end badly and it most certainly does not result in everlasting sorrow." _

"_Only a fool who hasss never experienced love would sssay that." _

"_I'm going back. Back home. I'm tired of this place." _

"_So…you can you make portals too?"_

"_Yesss I can. And I can take you home right here, right now if that is what you wishhh." _

"_Hmm…alright then. If you would be so kind…I'll take you up on your offer. I'd like to go home now."_

"_Very well then, my friend. I'd be honored to help you. Just look into my eyes, and you'll be home in no time…"_

And before Caspian could scream at Jade to not listen to the snake, they were back in the real clearing. Caspian glared at the snake through flooded eyes.

"You tricked her." he growled.

The snaked laughed. "Ssso it would appear…"

The little devil. Of course, that would be the perfect way to trap Jade. Make her feel worthless by having the person she loved the most tell her how much he didn't care about her. Her first instinct would be to go straight home. And how convenient that the snake who was plotting eternal darkness was right there to lead her to her permanent cell.

"But if you asssk me, I did the poor child a favor." The snake said.

"A favor?! You lied to her!" Caspian yelled. "None of that was true! I would never say that to her! And on top of all that, you put her in a world that's not real!"

It was all coming together for Caspian. How could he have not seen it before…

"None of that is real! Her father's dead! He died when she was six! And her mother remarried too! From what she told me, her life was horrible. It was certainly nothing like the world you put her in." Caspian said.

"But that isss exactly my point." Said the snake. "It may not be real, but you cannot deny the fact that ssshe is happy."

"Blissfully ignorant would be the proper term." Susan mumbled, but the snake ignored her.

"For once in her life, Jade isss truly happy. I have created her own persssonal heaven. I have given her everything ssshe hasss ever wanted in a family…and more. And here you children are…trying to _sssave_ her. I think it would be more of a crime than a deed to take her away from what ssshe hasss alwaysss wanted. To ssstrip her of her happiness."

The snake was completely right. Caspian recalled Jade's brilliant smile when she hugged her father and sister. How happy she must have been. Even he had to admit how he would want to be able to do the same with his long deceased mother and father. And it was true that Caspian could never give her the family she loved or the life that she wanted. It was just not possible. All he could do was love her more than anything else. And now, he wasn't sure that that was quite enough to make her happy. Her happiness came before anything.

"Who are you to deny her of sssuch happiness?"

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**Ugh, well it's like 2 in the morning now so you all should be thanking me for writing my butt off so I could make this a fast post!**

**I'm tired so I don't have much to say except PLEASE REVIEW I got like no feedback last chapter :( Alright well night night.**

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	39. Chapter 39: Of Knowledge and Darkness

**Whoo new chapter! Writing is fun, especially since the end is coming soon!**

**And don't worry everyone, Jade's fate will be determined in time. Everything will fall into place when I decide it should. So just kick back and enjoy the rest of my story. At most, I'm going to have 5 more chapters. **

**And I have only 3 more weeks left to write! Eeep! I better get started now.**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 39: Of Knowledge and Darkness**

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**Your POV **

Time stood still. Everything and everyone around you came to a halt, like someone had pressed the pause button on your surroundings. Everything was still the second you locked eyes with your father.

And this wasn't figuratively speaking. Everything really did come to a stop. You blinked your eyes a few times, eyes still on your father, to make sure that your eyes were not deceiving you. But everything remained frozen.

You knew this place was too good to be true. Your father wasn't really alive…there had to be some catch. All of this couldn't possibly be real. But at the same time, it felt so pure and true. Maybe that was partly because you wanted it to be real more than anything.

You gazed at your father more intently. He was just the same as you remembered. Dark hair, and blue eyes that matched Alex's. You, on the other hand, had inherited your green eyes from your mother. He stood tall, probably over 6 feet. If only you had gotten some of those height genes. He was clean shaven and well-dressed, with a bright smile on his face. On hand was gripped around his briefcase while the other lay casually on your sister's head. You hadn't realized how much you had missed him until now

You looked down at Alex as well.

This was the moment you had been waiting for. You had promised Alex you would never leave her, and you promised yourself that you would never choose anything over her. She was your priority. It was your duty to look after her, because there was no one else in your family who would. The two of you were sisters, and you would always look after each other.

But now, that wasn't the case. Because you didn't need to save or help Alex from anything. There were no step-brothers to pry off of her, or meals that your mother had forgotten to make her. There was no step-father would couldn't give a rat's ass about her, and there was harm that would ever come to her. Certainly not in this "home". This was the perfect world for the both of you…and that's why you found it too good to be true. You felt uneasy making yourself so comfortable in a world that felt so impossible and alien.

"What'sss wrong Jade?" Came a familiar, slippery voice. "Are you not enjoying the world I created for you?" That damn snake…

"Created?" you whispered. "What do you mean 'created'? You made all this?"

"Yesss." The snake replied. "I created thisss whole new world, Jade…jussst for you."

"Why would you do something like that?" you silently replied. You were having a hard time finding your voice.

"Becaussse I care about you. And I only wanted to make you happy." Said the snake. You didn't know what to think, what to believe. The snake was only trying to help you, right? But, how would he know to put you in a place like this. You were sure that you had only told Caspian about your family, so how would this snake that you only met about ten minutes ago know about your past. None of the pieces of this puzzle were fitting together.

"So…this place…" you said, "…it's not real." You said as more of a statement than a question.

The snake's voice was silent for a moment. "I don't underssstand, Jade. Isssn't thisss what you've alwaysss wanted?"

You fought the urge to scream out. You could feel your shoulders shaking from fear and anger. "Yes but…I'm not sure. This isn't what I had in mind. It doesn't feel right…"you said. But it did feel right. It felt perfectly right. The problem was, was that it felt right and wrong at the same time.

"Thisss world…it doesssn't pleassse you?" the snake asked.

And then you snapped. "Of course is doesn't please me! It's not real!" you yelled into thin air. "I don't even know where I am!"

"Calm down, my dear." The snake cooed, trying to sooth you. But it wasn't working because you were panicking and becoming hysteric.

"Where am I?! And what's going on?!" you shrieked. "What kind of dirty trick is this?!"

"It'sss not a trick, Jade. I would never do that to you. I ssshould have asssked you before I sssent you here."

"You damn well should have!" you yelled. "Now please…take me to my real home."

"Your _real_ home? Why would you ever want to go back there?" The snake spat. How did he know about your real home anyways?

Whatever. That was the least of your worries right now. But the snake did have a point. Why did you want to go back there in the first place? You knew Alex was the answer. So you guessed the question was more like why would you ever leave this perfect place for a world that was more like hell? Why couldn't you just enjoy this happiness that you had never known could exist?

"Because…it's not real…" you said. But you weren't convincing yourself. Even though it wasn't real, it still felt nice to have your father back. It felt nice to be…a family.

"Doesss that even matter? You were happy only a moment ago." He said. Your posture softened at his words. He was completely, totally, and 100% true.

"Yes…I was." You said, faintly recalling the water fight you and your mother had not only a moment ago. "But…I'd still like to know where I am and…frankly…if this all isn't real I don't know if it is right to stay."

"Of courssse it isss. I made thisss world for you, remember. I don't mind at all if you ssstay." The snake said. Little did you know, you didn't have a choice whether you wanted to stay or not. But the snake continued on like you did. "Don't be frightened…it'sss not wrong."

"But it's not real either." You replied. Is that the best you could do? It seemed like the only comeback you had for the snake's remarks were that this world was not real. But did reality even matter anymore?

"Real…or imaginary. In one world…or out of another. Of what importance are the answersss to thessse questionsss?" the snake interrupted. You did not reply. "Do you not sssee it, Jade? You are happy…I can tell by looking into your eyesss. But, you won't let yourssself enjoy thisss moment becaussse you deem it illogical."

"I…I'm not sure I understand." You said.

"Knowledge!" the snake's voice shrieked. "Knowledge isss the object of man'sss downfall! You people jussst need to quessstion everything and never except thingsss asss they are. You jussst keep asssking quessstion after quessstion until you get answersss that you cannot handle."

"That's one opinion." You mumbled. "In my world, knowledge means opportunity. It helps us grow, advance, and learn. Without knowledge, we would be nowhere."

"My dear, dear Jade. How bright you are." The snake cooed lovingly. "But that isss not the point."

"Then what is?" You challenged.

"Knowledge only destroysss, it doesss not create." The snake simple replied. "I know thisss for a fact and…from experience. Do you read the Bible, my dear?"

"Umm…I used to." You said.

"Very well then. You are familiar with the creation of the Earth and Man?" he asked.

"Adam and Eve? Yes, I'm familiar with that story." And then the snake recited a passage from the Bible that you were all too familiar with.

"1 Now the ssserpent wasss more sssubtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He sssaid to the woman, "Did God sssay, 'You ssshall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman sssaid to the ssserpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the treesss of the garden; 3 but God sssaid, 'You ssshall not eat of the fruit of the tree which isss in the midssst of the garden, neither ssshall you touch it, lessst you die.'" 4 But the ssserpent sssaid to the woman, "You will not die. 5 For God knowsss that when you eat of it your eyesss will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 Ssso when the woman sssaw that the tree wasss good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyesss, and that the tree wasss to be desssired to make one wissse, ssshe took of itsss fruit and ate; and ssshe alssso gave sssome to her husssband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyesss of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sssewed fig leavesss together and made themssselves apronsss." He finished. "Do you underssstand now, my dear?"

You thought over the Bible passage for a few moments. The snake's little lesson vaguely reminded you of the lesson you had with Caspian and his Professor.

"So…are you trying to say that knowledge was the cause of man's first and great sin?" you asked.

"More or ssso. It'sss man'sss quessst and need for knowledge that causssed thisss. Adam and Eve were not even aware of anything. They were sssenssselesss, mindlesss foolsss who were ignorantly living off of God's love. But admissst everything, they were happy."

"But, they were mindless and foolish. You even said it yourself. What kind of life is that?" you asked.

"A good one. A happy one. Look at your world now. Look what knowledge hasss done to your preciousss world. Of courssse, you are advanced and informed. But at what cossst? Your people take thingsss for granted…they think that they know everything…they think that they are better than anyone…and they think that happiness will be achieved by continuing their advancementsss. But it won't. Nothing will. Your people are in too deep to ssstop. They are obsssesssed with knowledge. Too obsssesssed to realize that it isss the caussse of all their problemsss."

You took in the snake's words. It was true. Your world was indeed falling apart, what with the beginnings of World War III, the depletion of fossil fuels, and the desperate need to change bad environment habits. Knowledge and the need to advance technologically really were destroying your world.

"That makes sense…" you whispered.

"That snake was well aware of the consequences that would ensue. He knew what he was doing…"

"Yeah, he did. I mean…look at us now. I guess…knowledge really is dangerous." You admitted.

"That'sss a good girl." The snake replied. "Now, I'll asssk you thisss only once. Do you wisssh to go back to your home?"

You looked up into the eyes of your father, your mother, and then Alex. "What are you talking about?..."

All you had ever wanted was for you family to stay together…for your dad to never have died so that he could see you grow up and succeed in life. For him to be there when Alex was born. For you all to be the perfect family. It wasn't real. None of it was real. It was fake…imaginary…a dream…an illusion. But as you gazed into the eyes of the person you loved and missed the most, you didn't care anymore.

"…I am home."

The pause button switched off. You ran up to your father and embraced him.

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**Caspian's POV **

"Who are you to deny her of sssuch happinesss?"

"Someone who knows what is best for her!" Caspian replied.

"Fool! You don't know what'sss bessst for her! After all…" he said slyly "…you're the reassson why ssshe left."

The snake had hit a sore spot, and Caspian felt his anger double. He refused to believe that he was the reason why Jade had abandoned them all.

"She didn't know any better!" Caspian defended. "She wouldn't have left if she knew the truth."

"Oh, you think ssso boy? Then what wasss ssshe doing in the middle of the woodsss all alone?" the snake challenged. Caspian had no remark to comeback with.

"She was indecisive!" Susan said. "It's…what she was most afraid of…" Susan trailed off in a low voice, unaware of how she knew that bit of information.

"_What are you afraid of? Getting old…being different…or being__indecisive?"_

"Ssshe abandoned you lot. Ssshe no longer caresss for any of you…ssshe isss much happier with her family that ssshe ever could be here. Ssshe hasss forgotten all about you…you are asss good asss dead to her."

"That's not true!" said Lucy. "You probably messed with her memories to make her thing that she's really home."

The snake laughed knowingly. "I did not such thing." He said. "She is well aware of what is going on."

"Liar!" Caspian yelled.

"I am the Massster or Illusssion…not Liesss!" The snake hissed at Caspian. "Indeed, I tricked her…and many othersss before her. But there isss a fine line between deception and falsssehood. Never once in my long life have I lied about anything! Jade knowsss ssshe isss in my world…and ssshe doesssn't care. Ssshe wantsss to ssstay…ssshe did not asssk me to take her back…not like I would anywaysss…"

"I don't believe you!" Caspian said.

"It mattersss not what you believe! Jade hasss given into the Darkness…thanksss to you, Little Prince. And now that the doors to this world will remain open, and all worlds will return to the darkness from which they were born…just like her heart."

So that was why she had chosen to go home, Caspian thought. Had she had enough of all the responsibilities that awaited her if she decided to stay in Narnia. Did she really want to be with her family that badly? Or…did she really not care about them anymore. Was she really so happy about being "home" that she had forgotten all about him, the Pevensies, and everything they had been through?

No…that couldn't be true! After all, she was the one who said "I love you" first.

"Not if we have anything to do about it!" Peter said.

"Yeah…Jade is smarter than that. She will come to her senses sooner or later!" Said Edmund.

Caspian hated the fact that Jade was obliviously living her dream life in the snake's trap, completely unaware of his deception and what was really going on.

"Jade'sss ssstate of mind isss of no concern to me know. Whether or not ssshe doesss figure thingsss out for herssself, it will not matter. There isss no way for her to essscape. And when all of Narnia fallsss before your eyesss, Kingsss and Queensss, you will have her thank." The snake smiled.

"Nothing is going to happen to Narnia…or Jade. Stop boasting as if you have already won." Caspian said.

Caspian was nervous. It was true, the snake spoke in such a way that made him feel like all hope was lost. He seemed so confident…so sure of his trap.

But every plan has its flaws…its holes. Even though the snake seemed so confident, there must be some way of its trap…or at least Caspian liked to think that. This couldn't be the end, it just couldn't. There had to be some way of saving Jade. And if not…well, then they would surely fail.

"You know I ssspeak the truth, I can tell. You jussst refussse to accept the fact that you have all **failed**!" the snake smiled evilly at the impact his words had.

"You won't be smiling once I pierce you with my blade!" Caspian threatened, but the snake merely laughed at this.

"Go ahead. Kill me a thousssand timesss over, but no weapon will bring Jade back to you." The snake replied. "How many timesss mussst I tell you. You have already lossst!"

And for the first time, Caspian felt truly defeated.

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**Sorry this chapter was so late and not very interesting. Don't worry though, the last few will be extremely good! I promise! This was just the last filler chapter for the ending. I know it's boring, and it was annoying to write…but alas, if was necessary. And now the fun begins…**

**REVIEW**

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	40. Chapter 40: Vindicated Sacrifice

**WOOT! CHAPTER 40!**

**And guess what kids? We are at the near end of this story!!! Isn't it exciting!? I know it must be for those of you who have kept up with my story since this past summer. You all are probably like ughhh just finish already!**

**Well there is your good news. After this chapter, there will be approximately 3 chapters left…**

**ONLY THREE LEFT! Holy crap! I can't even believe it myself! I'm so happy! So please bear with me for a few more chapters and you will get your lovely ending. **

**Plus the sequel when summer starts! So stay tuned folks.**

**Now on with the story…**

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**Chapter 40: Vindicated Sacrifice **

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**Your POV **

Light streamed in through your window. You tried to ignore the early rising summer sun, but it was just too bright. Reluctantly, your opened your eyes and threw the covers off your body.

You looked to your alarm clock. The time read 6:50. Great, you actually managed to wake up before your alarm went off…that would never happen again.

You slid ungracefully out of your bed, stumbling a little from the memories of dreams of running through the woods at night and the sounds of clashing metal. Lucky for you, in this world, your old memories of…that place were easier to forget. This world was all you had ever wanted; it was full of love, happiness, and family. Why would you ever want to go back to that place with Ca-

"No!" you whispered fiercely. You had promised yourself that you wouldn't plague yourself with such memories. Never again would those people haunt your thoughts. You had wasted enough time and emotions on those people and that world, and now it was all in the past. It was a nightmare…a mistake. Now, you were back in your world…where you belonged. It was time to start living your life the way you always should have. The way your life deserved to be. Narnia-free. And you couldn't be happier.

It was Monday morning, only three days since you had been back. The weekend had passed so quickly, you guessed that it was true that time passes faster when you're having fun. And what a weekend it was…

Friday night your family had ordered pizza, and you all ate together as a family. After that, Alex had followed you up to your room where you happily sung her to sleep on your bed. You cuddled alongside her, refusing to tell her about any stupid "adventure" that you had been on while you were "gone". She wouldn't understand. After all, no time had passed since you had been away.

Saturday night, your family had gone out again to dinner at Hibachi. After all, you were going away to college in a few months, and already your mom was acting like it was your last weekend at home. But you didn't mind one bit. You wanted to be by your whole family as much as possible. You were a bit depressed to be going to college already after you had just been reunited with your dad, but you would manage. Plus, if your guys went out every weekend like this, you wouldn't mind. You laughed as your little sister cheered after catching the shrimp in her mouth, while your dad silently muttered the words "unfair" and "cheap" after missing his shrimp. It was a lot of fun. And after dinner, your family went together to see the movie _Twilight._ You were so excited. You had completely forgotten that the movie was coming out when you had been taken away.

Sunday wasn't as extravagant or excited. You just lay at home all day in your pajamas, spending some quality time with your family and studying for your last final. But it was only English, one of your better subjects and part of the reason you wanted to be a journalist. You loved analyzing things and then writing about them. For your final, you had to go over _Pride and Prejudice, _the book your chose to read that semester, and write 2 in class essays. But that would be too hard. So after you spent the whole night memorizing the book, its characters, and story themes over and over, you took a long shower and called it a night.

All in all, you were pretty confident for your last final as you dressed yourself for school. You went over to your window and opened it. You stuck your hand out- it was extremely hot. So you decided to just go with a simple blue tank top and jean shorts. Who cared anyway, it was your last week of hell.

You didn't want to admit it, but all weekend you had been a bit nervous for school. It was kind of pathetic to admit it but…you would be all alone and you were scared. You had been gone away for days…weeks…months…in a place where what lunch table you sat at or how popular you were didn't matter. You were surrounded by …"friends". Even at home, you were safe and loved as well. But school was the one place that you had always feared. Girls picked on you, guys pretended you didn't exist, and even the teachers pitied you. You had always been different when you were younger, someone who kept to themselves. You had a good friend here and there, so you weren't totally alone. But when your father died, you just shut everyone out, even those who tried to help you. You just wanted to be alone.

But now that everything was different, you were nervous to see what the laid behind the school doors. What did this new life have in store for you?

Your thoughts were interrupted as you heard your door creak a little. You looked over to see Alex happily skip into your room and sit on your bed. She looked so cute it her flower adorned capris and her black _Twilight_ t-shirt that you had bought her after the movie. Her long straight hair fell loosely around her face, and she held out her hands to you. In one hand was a brush, and in the other two rubber bands.

"Jade?" she asked innocently. "Will you give me piggy tails?" you laughed as she gave you the puppy dog eyes. That was always how she had gotten her way with you.

"Of course, Al. I'd love to. You don't need to whip out 'the eyes.'" And just as you said that, her face scrunched to normal. Boy was she a good actress. You patted to your chair by your desk, and she quickly hopped onto it so that you could get to work.

You gazed at her hair as it ran through her fingers. It was just like yours…long, sleek, and pitch black. You listened to her ramble on and on about how jealous everyone would be of her shirt while you braided her hair.

"Jade…are you really leaving?" she suddenly asked. You stopped braiding her hair for a moment. She had asked you that same question only a few months ago. Well, actually, in your world it was yesterday. You remembered how often she would ask you that question, but it always had the same impact. You never ceased to feel guilty every time she asked.

"Yeah…I am." You said. "But it's no big deal, Al. I'll only be…a few hours away." As opposed to halfway across the globe.

"Will you come back to visit?"

"Yeah of course. I'll come back every month and for holidays." You said as you finished braiding her hair. "Don't worry, Al. I'd never totally abandon you." You said to her more seriously. You knew that she was too young to understand the meaning behind your words, plus would she really believe you if you had told her that you had chosen her over all of Narnia. No…you would tell her someday. But not now, not yet.

"Thanks." She said as she examined her hair in the mirror. "But I'm still going to miss you." You felt so selfish. How could you ever have thought about a future in Narnia when you had a whole other life here? Alex needed you here. You couldn't possibly leave.

"I know…and I'm sorry. But this is something I have to do. It will be alright, you'll understand everything someday."

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**Caspian's POV**

"Go ahead. Kill me a thousssand timesss over, but no weapon will bring Jade back to you." The snake replied. "How many timesss mussst I tell you. You have already lossst!"

"No we haven't!" said Peter as he drew his sword. "I challenge you to one on one combat. If I win, you bring Jade back. If you win-"

"What kind of idiot do you think I am!" The snake laughed. "I am no fool like Miraz. I would never agree to sssuch termsss."

"Well then what terms would you agree to?"

"None! I would never risssk sssuch an advantage." He replied. "I have nothing more to sssay to you little kingsss and queensss. My work here isss done…I bid you all a promisssing future." The snake turned around and began to slither away.

"No wait!" Caspian called out. The snake stopped but did not turn around. "Take me instead." He said as a last resort.

"No." the snake said simply.

"Then take me to her world."

The snake smiled cruelly. "Ssshe doesss not wisssh to sssee you ever again. What kind of friend would I be if I brought back her worssst nightmare?"

Caspian inwardly cringed, trying not to show how much the snake's hurt on the outside. "Just take me to her."

The snake seemed confused at this prospect. "Do you hear yourssself when you ssspeak, imbecile? Ssstop being ssstupid and run back to your little cassstle. My duty here isss done."

"No, please!" Caspian called. "I'm practically handing myself over to you! What have you got to lose?"

"My dear idiotic boy, I am for once being generousss in denying you your wisssh. Do you _want_ to live in an illusssion for the ressst of eternity?" the snake asked.

"Yeah, Caspian. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Peter asked incredulously. But Caspian ignored him.

"I do not know what I am getting myself into, and I do not care." He said. "Just take me to her and I will ask nothing more from you."

The snake was silent for a moment, taking in his odd demand. "Isss thisss really what you wisssh…very well then…I sssuppossse disssposssing of Narnia'sss king-"

"No!" Peter interrupted. "Don't listen to him!" Caspian turned on Peter.

"Stay out of this, Peter. It does not concern you." He said as he vaguely remembered the time Peter would not let him go after Jade when she was left behind at the raid on the castle.

"It very well does! You are King of Narnia now! It is your duty and responsibility, as it was mine before! You cannot abandon your people!"

"I'm not abandoning anyone! Quite frankly, I'm doing the opposite! If I save Jade, I save Narnia!"

"You cannot sssave her!" the snake impatiently hissed in the background.

"You heard him…" Peter said indicating to the serpent, "…you can't save her."

Caspian looked at him incredulously. "And you, High King Peter, would give up so easily."

"I didn't say I gave up! I'm just saying that what you're about to do is stupid and rash! You are not going after her like this! I will not allow it!"

Caspian closed the gap between their bodies, allowing himself to tower over Peter by about four inches. "You will not stand in my way. Not this time." He said with finality.

Peter looked defeated, but he still did not approve of Caspian's decision in any way. But this time, there was no way of stopping him. Caspian was too headstrong and decided.

"Caspian…"

"No, Susan. I know what you all are going to say but I do not care. You don't understand what this means to me…this is something I must do." He then turned away from the snake and huddled in with the rest of the Pevensies so only they could hear his words. "Listen…I'll be fine. Every trap has its flaws. I'll go to Jade's world, I'll find her and I'll find some way to get back. I promise. I'll come back. It's just… I lost Jade once…and I'm not going to lose her again."

"But Caspian…you really have no idea what you're getting yourself into. How can you trust that he will send you to Jade?" Susan asked.

"That is a chance I am willing to take. But just in case, go find Aslan immediately after I leave."

"Why don't you just wait for us to get Aslan now?" Peter asked.

"That would take too long, and I don't think he is stupid enough to wait." Edmund said. "You might as well go up to him and say 'oh um, hey! We'll be right back, we're just going to go get the magical ruler of Narnia so that he can do away with you and your illusions in two seconds flat. Don't go anywhere!'" Peter hit Edmund on the back of his head.

"Shut up, Ed. Who's side do you think you're on anyways?!" Peter asked, offended that his brother was siding with Caspian.

"There isn't much else we can do, Pete." Said Edmund. "Don't you want to get Jade back?"

"Of course!"

"Then listen to Caspian, Peter. He knows what he's doing." Lucy said. Everyone looked at her. Peter hung his head low to surrender. Lucy was usually always right about these kinds of things. So if she believed in Caspian, then he should as well. "We just need to get to Aslan as quickly as possible afterwards."

"Alright…if you say so Lu." Peter said.

Caspian turned back to the snake, determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Hmph, ssstill wisssh to meet a fate worssse than death…little King?" the snake asked, pleased. After all, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

"Yes." Caspian walked over to Jade's lifeless body that lay in the middle of the clearing, and only a mere feet away from the great snake. He knelt down beside her and lifted up the upper half of her body. He then positioned his own body on the ground in a laying position and pulled Jade's body against his chest. It looked as if they were sleeping together. It had been too long since Caspian had been so close to Jade and held her like this. It was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

Her body was not cold, nor was it rigid. She did not look or feel dead. No…she looked and felt the same as she always did. She only appeared to be in a deep sleep. Her hair felt the same as Caspian ran it through his fingers with the hand he had wrapped around her, and her lips still felt flush and smooth as he traced them with his other. When he looked back up to the sky, he saw the serpent looming over him.

"Well, then?" he asked.

"I am ready whenever you are." Caspian replied.

And before he could say, think, or do anything else, the red eyes of the snake pierced through his brown one's and took him away from his world.

……………………………………………………………………

**Jade's POV**

"Hey, Jade! Wait up!"

You immediately stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. Third period was over, and you were about to go to lunch. Except a very familiar voice made you stop in your tracks like a dear in headlights.

You turned around, only to be met face to face with Casey Duncan.

"_You're inviting me?"_

"_No, my mom is. She said I have to invite all the girls in my class…even you. She feels sorry for you. But I don't, so you better think up a good excuse not to come. I don't want you ruining everything."_

When you turned to her voice, you saw her and a bunch of her friends waving over and running to catch up to you. You looked to your left and right and over your shoulder, but not one else was around. She had to be talking to you…right? But that was so absolutely unlike her. She usually just ignored you in school, just like everyone else. You were pretty sure she had forgotten your name by now…let alone that you were still alive. So what the hell was the meaning of this?

"Are you talking to me?" you asked awkwardly as her and the three other girls caught up to you. Your comment made her and the other girls.

"Shut up, bitch." She said playfully as she gave you a friendly nudge with her elbow. "So how about our English final? I basically failed. I might as well have left it blank and wrote 'I'm stupid'." Her friends laughed along with her. You remained silent. "How do you think you did?" she asked.

You couldn't believe your ears. Her words were completely sincere, and it was as if the two of you were actually…dare you say it…friends.

"Umm…I…ugh…"

"Oh God Casey, you don't even need to ask!" one of the girls said. "You know Jade's an awesome writer. She definitely got an A." The rest of the girls and Casey murmured in agreement. This time, you really couldn't hold back your smile. Never had any of your friends or classmates commented on how good of a writer you were. As a matter of fact, no one even knew that much about you to care. It felt really nice. You actually felt like you belonged.

"Yeah, Jade. Don't forget that we were friends when you become a famous news reporter!" Casey said. You laughed along with all of them as you all made your way into the cafeteria. You followed them to "your" table and continued your pointless chatter about grades, summer, and college.

At least you wouldn't be eating lunch alone today. Or for the rest of the week.

……………………………………………………………………

The rest of the day felt like a surreal party. Finals were over, everyone was in a good mood, there were only four days of school left, and you actually had friends to enjoy all of this with. It was like your role in school had completely switched. Instead of being that girl who had a few friends but mostly kept to herself, you were one of the more well known people in the school. Everyone knew your name, and you were pretty much friends with everyone. By no means were you one of those stuck up, bratty girls that ran the school, and neither were Casey and your other "close friends". You were all just normal girls who had lives. It felt nice to finally be somebody.

Trusting that snake was probably the best decision you had made in a long time. Why couldn't he have been the first person to find you when you went to Narnia.

"_Stop thinking about Narnia!" _you told yourself for the hundredth time. You hated Narnia and everyone in it. They had all been plotting against you and kept things from you. They wanted to use you…why should you trouble your mind with such nostalgia. You did **not** miss that place. You were better off just pretending it was some dream that kept nagging you in the back of your head.

That place had betrayed you and you were glad you left. You did not wanted to go back. Ever.

And you certainly never wanted to lay eyes on Caspian ever again. Because you hated him. Not because you realized that even though he was an evil, knifing, liar he had still touched your heart in a special was. His intentions were never true, and he never loved you like you thought you did.

You just guessed that you had a case of bad judgment.

Getting lost in your thoughts, you just only realized that you were right in front of your locker. You hastily knelt down to open it, the sounds of the crowd of students bustling in the hallway overcoming all your senses.

"Jade! Hey, Jade!" you heard Casey call. You eagerly looked up to see her fighting the crowd to make her way towards you.

"Hey, Casey. How was the rest of your day?"

"Great! And yours?" Boy…you never imagined that she could be so nice. Well, at least the illusion of her was. It was kind of weird talking to her so familiarly like this.

"It was good. Only four more days left and then summer!" Words could not describe how excited you were for the summer to start now that you had so many friends to hang out with. This summer wouldn't be spent laying on your bed all day reading and book you could get your hands on and playing games with your sister. This summer, you wouldn't be tortured by three step-brothers or have your own car taken away from you every single day. No…this summer would be full of parties, trips to the beach, and staying up all night talking about who knows what.

This summer would be awesome…and they college would be even better. It was like this world could do no wrong. It was perfect, and you were happy.

"Oh god don't say that! Now you're getting me all excited too!" she said as she began to jump up and down like a little kid. You laughed at her childlike antics. She finally settled down and cleared her throat to get your attention. "Well, what I came over here to tell you was that Josh's parents are gonna be away for a few days and he's having a party tonight at his house. You in?" she asked.

"A party? Tonight?" you asked curiously. "But…it's a Monday."

Your comment caused Casey to snort. "Haha, come on Jade. It's gonna be awesome."

"But we have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, and we're also done all our finals and have no homework. I honestly don't even know why we have school." She said.

"Yeah…that's kinda lame."

"Hey, don't you try and change the subject! You are going to that party tonight and that's final! We're all pregaming at Sarah's at 9. I'll give you a ride, k?" she asked, or demanded.

"Um…okay then." You replied with a smile. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Alright! Sweet! See you in a few hours!" she said. The two of you said your goodbyes.

You stayed leaning against your locker until the hallways cleared out. You had just been invited to your first party. You were going to have to dress in your best clothes, only to have them stained with puke once you got too drunk. Alcohol…you had never gotten drunk before. You were saving that bit for college, so that your parents would never find out. Oh well…it wouldn't hurt to start now.

……………………………………………………………………

You hastily dug through your purse to find the keys to the car. Yep, that's right folks, you had your car back. And it wasn't anything luxurious or expensive. No, it was your old and beloved Camry that you had named _Achilles_. You were glad that this world did not change your car, you loved it just the way it was.

When you finally fished your keys out of your pocket, you were about to open the door to your car. But then you remembered something.

You looked over to the woods that lay not too far away from the parking lot.

_"RUN! She's getting away!!"_

You remember that day all too clearly. You had finally had enough of Ryan and Ben taking advantage of you, so you had dumbly ran away from them into the woods- a pathetic attempt to escape their daily beatings. But it had worked. You were taken away from them and you hadn't seen them since. Instead, you were taking to Narnia.

"_Damn! Stop thinking about fucking Narnia!"_

Here they were coming again, those bittersweet memories of your visit to another world. The woods that you gazed at were the very woods where it all began. You wondered that if you were to go back inside them, that you would encounter the same tree that had taken you to the other side. Surely you would remember such a magnificent tree.

And what if you did encounter that same tree. Would it open again for you. Would you have another chance to-

"_Another chance to ruin your life?! Stop thinking about that shit! Just get in the care and go home!"_

But then a sudden movement in the forest caught your eye. You squinted you eyes to see more clearly. It was…a person. Just at the edge of the woods. You couldn't really make out their features from this distance, but from what you could see, the person was a boy with brown hair and a…sword.

You stood frozen on the spot for a few seconds, hoping that he could not see you. Or…maybe he wasn't even real. Yes, it was probably your stupid mind playing tricks on you. He wasn't even really there. You were imagining things. There was no possible way that-

"_Oh shit, now he's looking at me."_

When he saw you he stood still for a moment. Then he sheathed his sword back into its holder and began to run towards you. Shit…this looked real. It felt real. But it couldn't be. This was supposed to be **your** world. And in your world, everything was perfect and nothing went wrong. Nothing was out of place and nothing made you unhappy. He did not belong here.

So what the fucking hell was he doing in **your** world.

"Fuck." You swore under your breath. You immediately ripped open the door to your car and started the engine. You floored the gas petal and sped out of the parking lot, ignoring the calls of the person you never wanted to see again.

……………………………………………………………………

**Ohhhhh shit! What is going on?**

**Sorry for posting so late. I will be sure to post the next one asap. Gotta go to bed now though, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter very much.**

**ONLY THREE MORE TO GO**

**REVIEW!**

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	41. Chapter 41: Real

**Alright…the chapter you have all been waiting for! Well…kinda I guess. I've been doing a lot of thinking and editing and decided that there will only be two more chapters left. So…after this chapter there will only be one more!!! Gah!!! **

**Second to last chapter! It's so exciting! These two last chapters are gonna be awesome! So bear with me for 2 more posts :( And then of course the sequel which will be coming sometime around may, whenever I get out of college.**

**So I hope you enjoy this second to last chapter, and I will see you again sometime next week for the final chapter.**

**Chapter warning: LEMON**

…**yes, there is a lemon in this chapter…so reader beware (or not)!**

**Now on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 41: Real**

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

You slammed on the breaks after pulling into some random parking lot. You didn't think you could drive all the way home like this, so you just pulled into the first abandoned place you could find.

Your hands shook violently. Surely, you must be going crazy.

This wasn't the way your new life was supposed to be. This wasn't the way you wanted your new life to be. This life was a fresh start from all the hurt, pain, and betrayal your past carried. This new life was supposed to be filled with only happiness, family, and everything special that your past life had been stripped of.

This was certainly not a place where your past could continue to haunt you.

You sat quietly in your seat, rewinding the past event in your head. After about ten minutes, you had convinced yourself that you had indeed been imagining things. After all, you had been thinking about Narnia at the time. So it would only be normal for you to see things that would bring back memories from that foul place.

When you could bring yourself to move again, you started the engine and headed back home. You pulled into the driveway and looked at the clock on the dashboard. It read 2:45. So you still had about 15 minutes before you had to pick your sister up from school.

You got out of the car, and gave the scenery around you a hard glare, looking for anything that may be out of place. But there was nothing out of the ordinary, and you were pleased with the fact that you had only been imagining things.

"Mom! I'm home!" you called out to your mom when you opened the front door. No reply. "Mom?"

Instead of her calling your name back, you heard the jingling bells from your cat Scotti's collar. You called her over to you, and saw that she had a note attached to her collar. You ripped off the yellow piece of paper and read, "Gone shopping, will be back at 4. Love, mom. P.S. feed the cat."

At the same moment, you cat Scotti let out a low meow of hunger. You giggled.

"Is somebody hungry?" Another low mew. "Alright then, let's go baby."

Your cat followed you eagerly into the kitchen, and she began to flip out once she heard the sound of the can food opening. You couldn't help but laugh. "You must be starving!" you said as you placed her cat bowl on the ground. And just as you were about to refill her water, you heard a loud THUMP come from upstairs.

You froze in place. You felt your heartbeat begin to slowly but surely burst out of your chest as you pounded your memory to try and recall if the front door had been locked or not when you came in. Your first instinct, as everyone's is, was grabbing the biggest and sharpest knife inside your cabinet and whipping out your cell phone to type the letters 911.

"Mom?!" you called out a third time, hoping that she had gotten home from shopping early or something. But you were sure that wasn't the case, otherwise Scotti wouldn't have been hungry. "Hello?"

You were reluctant to continue your slow journey to the source of the sound once you reached the stairs. You felt like something would jump out and attack you at any moment, and you were scared as hell. But…you lived in the middle of nowhere! You probably lived in the most suburban neighborhood possible, so what were the odds that a kleptomaniac serial killer was waiting for you at the top of the stairs?

"Whoever's there, I called the police. And I have a gun." You bluffed as you ascended the stairs. Yeah…like that would ever work. They were probably laughing at your pathetic attempt at a scare tactic.

You reached the top of the stairs and everything was quiet. Maybe something just fell from your shelf or something. It was probably just an accident, but you still felt anxious. It was almost as if you could feel something was off in your house. But you couldn't be afraid, you needed to be brave and figure out who or what was awaiting you upstairs. And as you recalled all the demons, creatures, and evils that you had encountered in the world of Narnia, it didn't seem like whatever was behind one of these doors could even come close to being worse.

Finally, you were at the top of the stairs and at the beginning of the hallway. And as you gazed down the narrow walkway, you were vaguely reminded of that part of your crazy dream where each door led you to a portal to one of your memories. Only this time, you weren't looking for that single happy memory that was the whole reason you wanted to go back home. No, this time you were looking for something that could possible be currently plotting the ten ways in which they could rob, murder, and rape you.

But unlike your dream, there were not three doors on the left and three doors on the right. Instead, there were three on the right and one on the left. And you knew all too well what was behind them all. The lone door on the left was your parent's room, since they had the master suite. And on the right, the three doors in order were your sister's room, the hallway bathroom, and then your bedroom.

"Is anyone home?" you called out, even though there were no cars in the driveway.

You gently pushed open Alex's door first and scanned the room. Nothing was out of the ordinary, her room was clean. You then moved onto the bathroom, and then explored your parent's room. But both were clean as well.

You signed as you faced the last door upstairs: your own room. You were hoping it wouldn't have to come to this. Why did things always come down to you? It was like even in this perfect world, everything would always come back to you and bite you in the ass. You could never escape these series of unfortunate events.

Opening the door to your room was the last thing you wanted to do. But you knew there was something weird going on in here, and the only way to get to the bottom of it would to just turn the handle and open the door…

And so you did.

You peered into your room, chills running up and down your spine and hands slightly shaking. Opening the door fully, you gave your room a good hard look. But everything seemed to be normal. Everything looked just the way it had before you left for school that day. Your bed was unmade, your hamper was empty, your windows were closed and the shades were pulled open, your closet door was slightly open, your computer was turned off, and the chair that you had did Alex's hair in was still sticking out from its place under your desk. Everything was perfectly in place.

So you took a few brave steps into your room, not closing the door behind you unless you had to make a break for it. You steps were quiet and hesitant, and your eyes narrowed a bit at your closet door. It was only open a tiny crack, so the robber/murderer/rapist could possibly hiding in there. Or your attached bathroom. He could also be in there.

Your paces slowed down a bit more, if that was even possible, as you neared the closet door. Then you heard the sound of your door closing on its own, and you were about to whip your head around and prepare to stab whoever was pushing it closed. But then a voice broke through the silence, making you stay frozen in your place and refuse to turn around to the very thing you were looking for.

"Jade…"

……………………………………………………………………

That voice…it belonged to the one person you had never wanted to lay eyes on again.

"Jade." The voice said again. You shut your eyelids together so much that it hurt. Wrinkles appeared all over your strained forehead, and you could feel your heartbeat catch on to that fast and excited pace whenever you heard his voice.

When you refused to answer him, he let out a long sigh. How could this possibly be happening? Was it enough that he had to ruin your life in Narnia, and now he had to do it all over again in your home?

"Jade…please look at me…it's not what you-"

"Get. Out." You grinded through your teeth. You heard him sign again, and then run his hand through his hair. You cursed yourself for being so familiar with the sound of his ivory skin skimming through his chocolate locks that you didn't even have to look at him to know he was doing it. It made you sick to your stomach.

"Jade…I'm here to help you. You don't know what going-"

"I said. Get. Out." You growled. "Leave."

"Not without you." He said, and you could hear his footsteps as they made their way towards you on the other side of the room. You still refused to look at him.

"Don't come near me!" you shouted. He stopped in his tracks. "I'm not going _anywhere_ with you."

"Jade…" he said quietly. He said nothing after that, and a silence hung loosely in the air.

After what seemed like an eternity, you spoke. "Why are you here…?" you whispered.

"I'm here to help you, Jade. You don't know what's going on." He said. How exactly like him…to think that he knew everything while you were just a brainless twat who actually thought you were in your real home. You knew where you were **and** what was happening.

"I believe I know _exactly_ what is going on." You said as you turned to face him and narrowed your eyes at him. He had looked just like he had the day you met him, as beautiful and perfect as ever. "You really think I'm that stupid, Caspian?" you said, prolonging the enunciation of his name at the end.

"No, Jade. I don't think you do." He said.

You singed in frustration. "I know where I am, Caspian. I know this isn't really my world. I know it's all make-believe and that it's not real, but it's a world all the same and I don't care what you have to say about it."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "You…you know where you are." He said, rather than asked.

"Yes, Caspian. I'm home."

"Jade, this isn't your home…it isn't even a world. It's all an illusion…nothing here is real." He said. Again, he was talking to you like you were an ignorant child…like you had no idea what was really going on.

"I know." You said, losing your patience. He just couldn't seem to comprehend that you could give two shits where you were. As long as you had the family you should have always had, you didn't care about anything else. "I know it's all an illusion…and so that must mean that you are one too. So just leave me alone! That damn snake…" you mumbled the last part before turning upwards as if he could hear you, "…Hey! This isn't funny! This isn't what I want! Now get him out of here! I thought you said you made this world so I could be happy! Now make him leave!" you yelled.

"He's gone. He won't help you anymore." Caspian said. "Please believe me, Jade. I'm only trying to help you…he doesn't care about you. He tricked you into coming here."

You covered your ears like a child throwing a tantrum. "I can't hear you!" you said childishly. "I don't care what you have to say! I'm happy and I'm home, and that's all there is to it! I. Am. Home!"

"No, Jade. You're not…trust me! You are being held here against your will. This is all a lie…the snake was never-"

"I know!" you yelled throwing your hands up in the air exasperatingly. "I know it's all a lie, but I don't care! I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! This is the life I deserve to have! This is the life I choose! And I'm happy!" you stopped for a moment, looking Caspian's horrorstruck face dead on before saying, "And I'm not here against my will, either. I'm happy and I want to stay."

"You don't mean that."

And that was all it took for you to completely snap.

"You know…" you began as you started to circle Caspian, like a hawk circles its prey, "…you people always think you know what is best for everyone. You…Aslan…Peter…you all think you have me figured out and know exactly what I'm going through. But you have no fucking idea. You don't know what my life was like before, Caspian! So don't you go off saying what makes me happy and what doesn't! Don't come here, into _my_ world, acting like Prince Charming whose about to sweep me off my feet and save me like a damsel in distress, only to bring me back to _your_ world where you can use me like a baby-maker to fortify you kingdom and close your fucking doors!" you took a break so that you could catch your breath and take in the hurt look that his facial features displayed. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. I loved you, Caspian. I really did. But you were right before. I really didn't know you at all like I thought I did. Everything you made me believe…everything I thought I knew about you was all a lie. Or did you already forget about our little conversation a few days ago in the clearing."

"Jade…that's what I'm trying to explain…that wasn't me who said all of those things! It's was the snake using his-"

"Bullshit!" you interrupted.

"I'm not lying!" he yelled back, causing you to flinch. "Just give me a few minutes to explain myself." he said as he took a few steps towards you.

"You don't deserve any of my time! Go away!"

"No! I will not let you live like this!" he said as he waved his arms around the room. "I care about you too much to let you live like this for the rest of your life! You deserve a life as beautiful as you are, Jade. But you are living proof that we don't all get what we deserve." His words made you feel…indifferent to say the least. You still couldn't bear the thought of trusting him ever again, but his words…they sounded so sincere. Just like the day after you came to Narnia when he gave you a tour of the land. "It wasn't me who said those things to you…it was one of the snake's illusions that he used to trap you here so that you wouldn't be able to help Narnia. He did it because he thought that you were going to choose Narnia over going home."

You remained quiet for a moment before unleashing the words that you knew he didn't want to hear "I was…"you said, "…I was going to choose my home over Narnia."

"I know you were, Jade." He said. You stared at him in utter shock. You didn't believe his words.

"You…you did?"

"Yes, I did."

"I don't believe you."

"You can believe whatever you want, Jade. Because nothing I say will ever get through to you." He said seriously. "I knew you were going to go home Jade, and frankly… I wanted you to go home too."

"I don't believe you." You repeated. Caspian actually cracked a half smile.

"I knew you would say that."

"You little liar…you think reverse psychology will work on me? Well think again!" But something told you that he was telling you the truth, and you just didn't want to believe it.

"Jade, listen. No, I didn't come here to play mind tricks with you. I came here to take you back to Narnia, so that Aslan could take you back to you _real_ home. This isn't your home…this is a trap…a prison…a cell that you will reside in for the rest of your life unless you listen to what I'm trying to tell you." He said.

"So wait…let me get this straight." You said. "You want to take me back to Narnia…just so that you can let me leave?"

"Yes, Jade."

"But…that's not possible. You brought me here so that I could close the-"

"I could give a damn about the doors." Caspian said. His words struck you like lightning. You definitely weren't expecting him to say that.

"You…but…I don't…" it was useless to try to formulate words at this point. Right now, you had absolutely no idea what was going on. Who should you believe? Who was on your side? And most importantly, where the hell were you exactly? All these questions suddenly seemed so important, unlike when the snake had deterred you away from thinking about them too much. A million thoughts raced through your head, and you didn't know what you were supposed to do.

"Your happiness comes before anything, Jade. It you wanted to go home, then I won't stop you. I can't…as much as I hate to admit it, the snake was actually right about something." He took a few more steps closer to you, so that the two of you were barely a foot apart. You leaned up against the wall behind you, not to increase the distance from Caspian's body, but to give your weakening body some support from all the information that you were taking in "Who am I to take away your happiness, Jade? No right at all. I don't control you, and certainly would never use you for what you accused me of. I would never force you to stay here against your will. By all means, I don't want you to go home. But if that is what you choose…if that is the only thing that will make you happy, then so be it."

He took another step closer. Now he was definitely only a few mere inches away from your shaking body. You kept your eyes locked into his.

"I…I don't understand. The snake…he…"

"The snake is a lifelong enemy to Narnia, Jade. To all of mankind, actually. Long story short…he was brought back from the past because…because of me. It was after you had been captured that night at the castle…and I…I just wasn't thinking. I made a terrible mistake…all of this is my fault. And as a result, he has been running loose in Narnia, using his illusions to trick us and turn us against each other."

"He…he tricked me…" you felt tears streaming down your eyes. You really just couldn't take any of this anymore. All the lies…all the evils that this world held…all the decisions you had to make. It was all building up too much at this moment, and you were tired of being told story after story only to find out later that half of them were actually all lies.

"Yes, we are in his third illusion. It's a world he creates all his own and uses to trap his victims in forever."

You pulled at the ends of your hair in frustration and lowered your pained face to the ground so that you wouldn't have to stare into his beautiful brown eyes any longer. "My god…you're not serious."

"I would never lie about something like this, Jade. Just like I would never lie to you." He reached down and grabbed your chin with his hands, pulling your head upwards so that you were forced to meet his gaze once more. "Jade…I love you so much. Please believe me."

You let out a choked sob. "How could you ever love me…especially now. I…I'm such an idiot…I'm pathetic. You should hate me."

"I'm not mad at you, Jade. I don't blame you for anything that happened…I never would."

"Your life would have been so much easier if I had just never come…all I did was screw everything up."

And before you knew it, Caspian was crashing his lips onto yours. His lips were soft and cold, and the way he kissed you was so intense. You wrapped your arms around his waist, ready to take this kiss further. But he pulled away.

"Don't you ever _dare_ say anything like that ever again!" he demanded in a low, raspy whisper. "You were the best thing that has ever happened to me…and don't forget that."

"Caspian…" you silently cried.

"Yes, my love." He said as his other hand found the back of your head and gently stroked your hair.

"I…I'm so confused…" you cried. "I have no idea what's going on or…I… I just don't know what's real anymore! I don't know who to trust!"

"You can trust me, Jade."

"…I know I can."

"Do you really trust me, Jade?"

"Yes, Caspian."

"Do you want to stay here…in this place that is all a lie."

"No…I want to go home." You cried as you hugged your body tightly to his.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked gently.

You nodded your head. "Yes…I do."

He pulled out of your hug and gave you a kiss on your forehead. "I love you so much, Jade. More than anything."

"I love you too, Caspian." The moment the words left your lips, Caspian had claimed your mouth with his own once more. Only this time, his kiss was more urgent and passionate. His hand grasped the back out your head and pulled in towards his, not giving you any escape. Like you were going anywhere…

It was you who parted you're his lips with your tongues, and let it swirl and dance along with his. Before Caspian pulled away from you he bit the bottom of your lip with his teeth, causing you to push away from the wall and fall into his arms completely. He was all the support you needed.

His lips left yours, only to travel down to the side out your neck and your collarbone. Never before had you been kissed quite like this, and the sensation caused you to let out a low purr of pleasure. Your soft moans of pleasure seemed to ignite something within Caspian, and soon enough his lips were back onto yours kissing you hungrily.

"I thought…you…wanted to…leave." He said in between kisses.

You pulled away for a moment. "Not yet." You pleaded. "Caspian…I want to be with you."

"Jade, I want to be with you too. But…I don't know if we should."

You looked deeply into his eyes. "This world isn't real, Caspian. Nothing here is real except me."

"I'm real." He said.

"Exactly." You said as you pushed your body up closer to his. "You're real Caspian…you're real." You cried.

He leaned his forehead against yours. "Yes, Jade. I'm here and I'm real." He said, trying to comfort you.

"Then show me something that's real." You said gently.

Caspian gazed into your eyes. He knew exactly what you were talking about, and he was more than willingly to help you. It was a big step for the both of you, but it was the only thing the two of you wanted at the moment.

"Please Caspian…I want to feel something real…"

"I love you, Jade."

"I know, I love you too Caspian."

"I want you more than anything." He whispered in your ear.

"You can have me."

It must have been only a moment later that you found yourself laying on your bed with Caspian on top of you. Your lips stuck to each other's like glue as his hand trailed up your shirt. Your breathing quickened to an unnatural rate as you felt his fingertips trace over your curves. You arched your back up in pleasure, and hastily undid your bra buckle to that Caspian's hands could roam freely over your breasts. His touch was electric, and you were glad that you had his lips to use to stifle your moans of pleasure.

Caspian stood up from the place he was straddling you to take off the armor on his upper body. He stripped down so that he was shirtless and his pants were the only thing that remained on his body. You were too bust starring at his toned, tanned chest that could were caught off guard when his hands reached down to pull your top off as well, leaving you half naked. Caspian immediately went down to meet your breasts will his mouth, gently sucking on them as his hands traveled down to undo your shorts. When he finally managed to slid them off and slip a few fingers down your underwear, you could control your moans any longer. They were like the fuel for his fire, and more you gasped in pleasure, the faster Caspian would thrust his fingers inside your core. And to think that you had gone through eighteen years of your life without experiencing something like this.

You couldn't take his teasing anymore. You gently nudged him off of you a little so that you could push him down and roll on top of him. You hastily on did his pants, but the second they were off he was on top of you again. And there he hovered above you in all his glory. His body was everything you had dreamed of, and the only thing that stopped him from being inside you were your pink panties.

Caspian seemed to have the same thought in mind, because his eyes lingered on your bare body only a moment before ripping them off so that you both lay naked before each other.

He positioned himself above you. "Are you sure this is what you want."

"More than anything." You repeated.

He gazed into your eyes for a moment longer, and if to plant this memory firmly in his head so that he would always have it with him. And then he plunged himself into you, filling your insides with pleasure and ecstasy.

His first few thrusts were slow and hesitant. The look in his eyes told you that he was afraid of hurting you and wasn't sure you were comfortable with going any faster. So you placed your hand on his back and quickened the pace for him. Soon, you both found your rhythm, and you let out a few more moans as his thrusts became harder and faster. This was the moment that you had always been waiting for.

His pumping became more urgent now, and every thrust was deeper than the next. You were sure that he was close to his climax, and so were you. You could feel yourself coming. You hot wet core burned for him, and you could feel yourself becoming more moist…much for his pleasure.

"Oh…Jade…" Caspian moaned, and you pressed your lips to his, encouraging him to keep going. You were so close…

You felt your body give a forward lurch, followed by a feeling that could only be described as pure extasy. Caspian's climax came only seconds after yours, and you felt the weight of his body collapse onto you. You loved the feeling of his bare naked chest against yours. You ran your fingers through his hair, soothing him from your recent pleasure cruise. Amazing was the only word to describe how you felt.

To hell with everything that was going wrong at this very moment. You didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of his racing heartbeat against your chest.

……………………………………………………………………

…**And on that note, I think I'll go to bed!**

**Get ready for the BIG FINALE next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed this one ::wink::**

**Goodnight!**

**REVIEW!**

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	42. Chapter 42: The Fate of Narnia

**LAST CHAPTER**

**Wow, I can't believe I actually made it this far! This is so exciting!**

**I'd like to thank all of you one last time for keeping with my story, you guys are awesome!**

**And sorry for the long wait, I wanted to make sure that this chapter was perrrrrfect! So I really really hope you guys enjoy the last installment to this story, and I also hope that you stay tuned for the sequel which will start in May.**

**Thankyou all ******

**And for the last time, on with the story…**

……………………………………………………………………

**Chapter 42: The Fate of Narnia**

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**Your POV **

If you had to pick one memory, just one memory, that you could hold onto for the rest of your life, it would be the memory of you lying in Caspian's arms after being as close to him as you possibly could. Surely no other memory could even come close to this one. It would forever burn the back of your mind, constantly reminding you of the time and place when you were happy. And in love.

But we call these moments "memories" for a reason. We call them memories because they are, in fact, nothing. You can't hold them, or use them, or give them away. They aren't tangible. They aren't concrete. They don't exist.

They are part of the past, and we will never experience them ever again.

They do, however, remind us of all the amazing, horrible, embarrassing, and stupid things we have done. They are a blessing, but they are also a curse. Because what good is a good memory if all it will do is remind you of a time that you can never go back to again.

And once you left Narnia for good, that's all it would ever be. A memory. You would think, dream, hope, wish, and cry over all the beautiful and horrid memories that you had. Memories about falling through the tree, Miraz, the Telmarines, Aslan, the Pevensies, all the Narnians, the snake, and Caspian. All these solid, concrete people would vanish right before your eyes, and all you would have left of them would be memories.

You shifted in your bed as you thought over this dilemma. Neither you nor Caspian bothered to move after all the events that took place. You didn't really want to either. You liked the feeling of lying naked under your covers, wrapped in Caspian's arms. But your movement seemed to wake him, and he shifted as well.

You looked up to see him stir out of sleep, eyes immediately landing on your. A smile came to his face, causing you to smile as well. And before you could utter a word, he bent his lips down to meet yours in a short, but passionate kissed. After he pulled away, you buried your face in the crook of his neck as his hand reached up to stroke your hair.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

You let out a sign, breathing hard into his neck. "Never better." His hand moved away from your hair, and traveled down to stroke your bare back. His hands were warm and soft, and they felt good as they ran up and down your spine. This feeling would be a memory as well.

"I love everything about you." But what good are words when they're only memories.

You pressed your lips to his neck. How long would it be until the taste of his skin was no more than a memory?

Caspian pulled you closer to him under the covers so that you were practically on top of him. Your long black hair spilled across his chest, and you wrapped your arms around his torso. This moment could only last so long.

Would prolonging the inevitable make everything harder on you both?

Just the thought of doing what you knew you had you made you squeeze onto Caspian much tighter, your nails digging into his skin and face completely hidden in his shoulder.

"Come back with me." You said. How absolutely perfect it would be if you could simply bring Caspian back with you. He would be the perfect souvenir of Narnia to take back home with you. That way, you could do away with the old memories, and make with the new.

You fully well knew that it was crazy to say that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Caspian, but you couldn't help the way you felt. How could one person be everything you ever wanted and more. Was it even possible to find someone else like him, or to ever fall in love again? You had no idea, you had never been in love before. Only time would tell how this decision would affect the rest of your life.

Caspian signed, obviously trying to avoid this topic at all costs. But there was only so little time left for the two of you to be together, and one of you was bound to break the ice sometime.

"You know I can't leave, Jade." He said. "Narnia needs me." At least the one thing that you and Caspian saw eye to eye with was that you were both dedicated to your duties, other than each other. Both of your homes came before anything, and they affected every decision you made. Caspian would choose Narnia over you in a heartbeat, and you would do the same for Alex.

But you couldn't help but be a bit selfish at the moment. "But I need you too." It was impossible to get the best of both worlds. Life wasn't fair, and it didn't work that way. Not even here in Narnia.

"Don't start that Jade. I don't want this to be the way we part." He spoke.

His words shut you up for a few minutes, thinking of the right words to say. The time you had together would not last much longer, and every word you spoke needed to be meaningful. Every word you spoke needed to show him how glad you were that you came here, how much you were going to miss him, and how much you loved him.

But sometimes the right words to say weren't even words at all. So how would you ever truly prove to Caspian that you loved him as much as you did?

"Are you going to miss me?" you asked. Stupid. What a waste of words.

"Do I even need to answer that." He said.

You smiled. "It wouldn't hurt."

Caspian's hands moved to your side, where he proceeded to tickle you. You giggled and struggled in his tight grasp until he finally stopped. You were a bit out of breath, but were still persistent.

"Stop it, Caspian. I really want to know." You said more seriously. "Are you…are you really going to miss me?"

Caspian lifted your head out of the crook of his neck so that you could look him straight in the eyes. He looked down on you lovingly, as said the words that you would forever keep in your memory.

"To the world, Jade, you will always be just a person. But to me…you are the world."

And so, this is life. This is what it means to be unselfish, and to make decisions with no consideration to yourself. This is what it means to be a friend, a lover, and an all around good person. Everyone knows which decisions in life are the right ones, because they are always the harder ones to make. So don't be fooled when someone makes the wrong decision and gives you the excuse that they didn't know any better. Because, deep down, they knew what they did was wrong. They were either just too scared or selfish to do what needed to be done.

And that was not the way you wanted to live the rest of your life. You didn't want to be constantly reminded of how selfish you had been by staying, despite how much your sister and your world needed you. You didn't want to forever live in shame, knowing that you took the easy way out and gave in. You had to be strong.

"We shouldn't linger here much longer. I do not think it safe or wise." said Caspian.

"I know." You said. "I understand. Just…stay with me for a bit longer."

You knew the right decision was to leave Narnia. To leave the man who chose his world over you, and yet confessed that you were his world all along. This was most definitely the hardest decision you had ever made, but at least you could look back on this day and say that you had made this decision all by yourself.

"How much do you love me?" you asked. More word vomit. More stupid, time consuming questions.

Caspian signed again, tired of having to prove himself and his love to you. But you couldn't help it; you needed to hear the words from his mouth a million times over until they were burned into your memory.

"Jade…If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have come all this way to find you just to let you leave me." He said.

"How much do you love me, Caspian? Please…give me something to take back with me. I want something to always remember you by."

"Well in that case…" he said as he rolled over you so that he was now on top of you, "I can show you better than I can tell you."

And Caspian gave you a memory to forever keep close to your heart.

……………………………………………………………………

"So…how did you get here anyways?" You as Caspian as the two of you walked hand in hand down the road that led to your school. The both of you had no idea what to do or where to go, so Caspian had suggested that the both of you go back to the place where he had arrived. He said he remembered where he came, and you decided to walk there by foot so that the journey would last longer.

You didn't bother to wait for your mom to come home, or to pick up your sister, or to say goodbye to your father one last time. Caspian had helped you realize that everything happens for a reason, and the past is in the past. This world wasn't real, and it was deterring you from reaching the future. It was time to move on, and most importantly. It was time to go back to your real home.

"I asked the snake to send me here so I could find you…and he did." He said.

"You just…asked him?"

"Yeah, he didn't seem to care. And now I can see why…I'm not sure I have any idea how to get back."

You looked to the ground dejectedly. This was your entire fault, and if the two of you could never escape, you would never forgive yourself. You would never get home…

Caspian squeezed your hand when he saw the expression on your face.

"Do not worry, Jade. There has to be some way out of here. And Peter and the others are going to Aslan for help. I'm sure once they find him, we will be out of here in no time." He said reassuringly, but you still felt a bit miserable.

"What if Aslan can't bring us back?"

"Jade…stop worrying and blaming yourself. Everything is going to be fine. We just need to go back to the place where I came and I'm sure Aslan will take it from there. I have faith in him."

"Where was the spot where you came in?"

"Somewhere in the woods. It was where I first saw you." He said eyeing you. You remembered that day and how that when you saw him you had driven away immediately. "I was able to follow you back to your house, though, and I remember the path I took."

"Well that's good."

The rest of the walk there was in silence, save for the few questions that Caspian would ask about your world. He found everything strange, disgusting, and too unnatural. You would have expected that, though. Because compared to the beautiful lands of Narnia, your hometown suburbs looked like a shit-hole. His beautiful castles were made from stone and glass, while everything here was bland concrete and rusted steel.

After about ten minutes, the two of you had reached the woods. Caspian led the way inside, and after a few more minutes of fighting the trees and underbrush, he finally came to a halt.

"This is where I came in." he said. "It was right by that big tree." He outstretched his arm and pointed to a big tree in the near distance.

And sure enough, it was the tree that had brought you to Narnia. Did everything really happen for a reason?

You walked past his form, and up to the majestic tree that had led you into the arms of the man you now loved. This tree…you approached it slowly, like it was something holy and sacred. You were almost too hesitant to touch it. But the shone through the sides of the tree, providing it a halo of light in all its glory. And you couldn't help but reach out and stroke the bark.

You turned back around to Caspian. "This tree?"

"Yeah…why?"

"This is the tree that brought me to Narnia."

"Well then we must be in the right place!" Caspian said excitedly as he walked over to you. You felt a sting of excitement as well. But you were also a bit anxious for the moment when you would finally have to say goodbye.

"…Now what."

"I don't. I supposed we just wait and-"

And suddenly, the most amazing thing happened. Pink cherry blossoms began sprouting all throughout the tree- over its trunk, along the branches, and even on the leaves. The petals sprung to life, and then disengaged themselves from the flower that had been homing them. They now floated freely in thin air, flying. It looked as if the wind was blowing them, but they were moving in such an elegant way that could only be described as surreal.

They circled the nearby trees and their branches a few times before making their way to you and Caspian. The twisted and turned as they circled the both of you, leaving you with sweet smells and high spirits. Caspian pulled you into his arms as you watched the display surrounding you. He had a bright smile on his face.

_Caspian awoke for the second time from his sleep…however, this time, his dreams weren't in the least haunting. They were pleasurable. Even though he couldn't remember much, the happy feeling still resided in his subconscious. _

_Straining to remember what happened, he vaguely remembered running through a thicket of thin and friendly trees, their light pink petals dancing around his form and tickling his face. Caspian smiled from the memory. (from Chapter 4: The Meeting)_

The petals made their final rounds around you and drifted into the air, where they took the shape of a woman. You couldn't make out any distinct facial features. It was just an outline of a thin young woman with long hair. She looked alive, and you were pleasantly surprised when she spoke.

"Oh Jade…how good it is to see you again." The voice spoke. It was the voice from your dream…the one who had showed you your world while you slept.

"It's you…you're the on who created Narnia." You said dreamily.

"You mean the one from my Professor's story?" Caspian asked.

"Yeah," you said as you turned to him, "she's the one who brought me here."

Caspian stared into your eyes. "She is the one that brought you to me?" he asked. You smiled at him, before turning back to the flowers.

"I see you have made your decision, Jade." The voice said.

You nodded. "Yes, I have decided…to go back home." You said. You felt your eyes beginning to water already. This surely would not end well if you were already beginning to tear up. You hadn't even said goodbye yet.

"And you're sure that is what you wish?" she asked.

"Yes…I'm sorry to leave. I know Narnia needs me, but my home needs me even more." You said. Caspian's hand found yours, and just like when you had given him the strength to speak out at Dancing Lawn, he gave you the strength to say what you needed to say and do what you knew was right.

"Very well then."

"You're not mad…are you?" you asked timidly.

"Of course not. I cannot make you stay." She said. "After all, all things have there time. Narnia will just have to wait." You did not catch the underlying message that was hidden in her words.

You sighed in relief. You were so glad that she understood. You didn't want Narnia to hate you forever. It wasn't your fault you couldn't stay.

"So…you can get us out of here?" Caspian asked.

"Yes, of course I can. I will open two portals for you. One will lead back to Narnia, for Caspian, and the other will lead back to your home. You must choose immediately, Jade. No running away this time." She said

"But wait!" Caspian said. "Jade's body is still in Narnia."

"No matter. She will still be sent back to her home."

"And the snake?" you asked.

"I shall deal with him later." She said in an angry tone.

You wondered how she could have come into the snake's world to save you and Caspian. But then again, she was the immortal spirit of Narnia. If anything in Narnia could break the bounds of the unnatural world, it would be her.

"When the tree turns, Jade, go through the entrance on the south, and Caspian the north. They shall lead you back to your rightful homes." And after that was said, the petals that formed her body spilt apart and circled the sacred tree. The tree twisted and turned open for the third and final time, and you couldn't prevent this stabbing feeling of your adventure of a lifetime finally coming to an end.

The woman disappeared, the portal was right in front of you, and you felt tears slip down your cheeks as Caspian's hold on you tightened.

You turned around to face his, eyes watering. "I don't want to say goodbye, Caspian. Not to you…"

"I know, Jade. You just-"

"You hate me, don't you?" you cried.

"I will never stop loving you. Never, Jade."

"…how can you say such things when I'm leaving you…"

"You're not leaving me." He said. "This isn't goodbye. You will always be inside of me. And that part of me will never go away. You will always be will me."

"You will always be with me, too."

"…Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, now seemingly hurt.

"Yes, Caspian. I'm sorry…it's nothing against you or Narnia. I would love more than anything to stay here. But…I just need to go back." You said.

"Why? Why must you leave me like this?

"I understand what I need to do now that I didn't know before. There are so many things in my world that I haven't experience and have left undone. I haven't been the person I should have, and I've left too many things unsaid. I need to go back, Caspian. I need to go back and set everything straight. It's just what I know I have to do…I can feel it." You said softly. "I'm sorry…I guess my time of arrival was a little off."

"No, it wasn't." Caspian said as he leaned down and kissed your forehead. "Your timing was just right. Without you, I wouldn't have believed in myself to lead the Narnians to victory. I needed you, and I still do."

"I will always need you." You said.

"As I you. And I will never stop loving you."

"Neither will I." you said. And with that, Caspian gave you a final, passionate kiss. His lips crushed into yours, his arms wrapping around your small frame and pulling you as close to him as humanly possible. It was a moment that could never last.

It would be a memory.

Caspian pulled away too soon, and as you looked into his glazed eyes, you knew it was time for you to go. You let out a choked sob, and Caspian brought you back into his arms.

"My love…I hope you find what you are looking for in your world." He said.

"And I wish you good luck as King." You pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Goodbye, Caspian. I love you."

"Goodbye, my love." Caspian said. He leaned down and kissed you tenderly on the forehead. You closed your tears stained eyes in contempt. You kept them closed as you listed to his footsteps fade away as he made his way to the other side of the tree.

Your eyes snapped open. "Wait!" you called out as you ran over to Caspian. He turned around in shock as you practically tackled him to the ground. You pressed your lips to his more intently and ran your hands through his hair. His hands traveled up your spine, running over your back and stomach.

You pulled away and smiled bashfully. Caspian smiled as well.

"This is exactly how I want to remember you by." He said as he tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Umm…can I ask you for something, Caspian?" you asked shyly.

"Anything."

"Can I umm…have your sword?" you asked.

"My sword…why?" he asked confused.

"Just something to remember you by." You said.

"And what do I get?"

You stood back up and took off your slip on shoes that you were wearing at the moment and handed them to Caspian. "Here, take these."

He took them gingerly and put them in his pouch. "Very well then." He said, as he pulled out his old sword (**not the one Peter gave him)** and handed it to you. You took the sword out of his grasped and watched him walk away to the other side of the tree. You could see him through the hole in the middle, but you knew that you would walk back into a different world rather than walk into him.

This was it. It was time to go home.

You walked up to your side of the tree as well, so that now you and Caspian were a mere foot away from each other. His eyes pierced yours, and you wondered how many nights you would dream of his brown eyes.

"Till we meet again." He said. And with that, the both of you stepped through the tree.

In the matter of a second, you were worlds apart.

……………………………………………………………………

**Caspian's POV**

Caspian opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of the clearing. He heard voiced around him, but felt no form in his arms like there had been when he looked into the snake's eyes.

He stood up immediately and saw the Pevensies and Aslan around him all staring at him expectantly.

"Caspian, you're alright!" Susan said as she and Lucy pulled him into a hug.

"Did you find Jade? Is everything alright?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, Jade was sent home." He said, his mood immediately shifting. "She's…safe now."

"Jade's not coming back?" Edmund asked. "She didn't even come back to say goodbye?"

"Do not worry, young one. I have a feeling you and your sister will see her again someday." Aslan said, referring to Edmund and Lucy.

"What do you mean? Like back in our world?" Peter asked.

"Not exactly." Aslan said. "What you must understand about Narnia, is that no duty is overlooked. Everything has its time…and some may take more time than others."

"What do you mean?" Caspian asked expectantly.

"Everything happens for a reason." He explained. "Just because Jade went back home, it does not mean that her duty to Narnia has diminished. It has simply…been put on hold. Narnia has not seen the last of Jade."

"You mean…she'll come back?" Caspian asked.

"Do not get your hopes up, Young King. I speak only the worlds I feel. I am not always right. But I do not think that such a fate as Jade has in Narnia can ever perished." He said. "As for now…the fate of Narnia will just have to wait."

……………………………………………………………………

**Your POV **

You felt yourself lunge forward unnaturally, your body nearly slamming against the hard earth. Lucky enough, the heavy sword that you held onto helped you keep your balance.

You blinked your eyes a few times as you stared before you. You were in the same exact place in the forest where you had said goodbye to Caspian…only this time it was real.

The urgent sound of footsteps soon reached your ears, and by instinct, you spun around on spot and swung Caspian's sword from your outstretched hands. You turned around just in time to see you almost take off Ryan's head. Lucky for him, he had good reflexes, and ducked away just in the nick of time before blood was shed.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" he cursed. Ben was soon as his side, looking terrified as well. The looks on their faces made you feel pure joy. It was like Christmas had come early.

"Where the fuck did you get that?!" Ben asked.

Yep, you really were home know.

"Don't you wish you knew." You said bitterly. "So…what's my last name again?" you taunted as you remembered the discussion that led you to run away in the first place. Ben and Ryan didn't say anything.

"I want to know, _boys_. What's my last name?" you repeated.

"Seriously, Jade. That thing-"

"WHAT'S MY FUCKING LAST NAME?!" you screamed as you pointed the sword dangerously close to their throats."

"Ebony! FUCK!" Ryan yelled.

"Damn straight it is." You said victoriously as you held out your free hand. "Now give me the keys to _my_ car. I'm driving home."

……………………………………………………………………

You had driven home like a maniac, faster than you had ever driven before. You needed to get home, you need to see Alex. You wanted to hold her into your arms more than anything.

You rushed up the stairs to your room, ignoring the complaints of the boys behind you. To hell with them all.

Your mom's car was in the driveway, so that must mean that Alex was home. Her school had ended two weeks before yours, so she was most definitely home. You practically knocked the door off its hinges and you rushed into Alex's room. She wasn't there. You turned around immediately and barged into your room next. And the sight before you made you immediately skid to a halt.

Alex was fast asleep on your bed, Scotti tangled in her long black hair. She looked so beautiful…so innocent…so peaceful.

You quietly crept into your bed and pulled her body close to yours, cradling her in your arms. It vaguely reminded you of how Caspian would hold you.

She stirred in her sleep, and her eyes cracked open.

"Jade…your home." She said sleepily. She was probably half asleep, and you felt bad for waking her up.

"Go back to sleep baby." You cooed.

"But I missed you." She said, her voice trailed off.

"You have no idea how much I missed you." You said. "And I have a surprise for you, but I'll only tell you if you promise to go back to sleep once I tell you."

She didn't answer. She already fell back asleep. You smiled.

"I'm taking you to England with me, baby. I met some people who live there who can take care of you." You whispered before kissing her goodnight.

And soon enough, you found yourself laying beside her in exhausting and falling into a deep sleep full of dreams of horseback rides, flying on gryphon, and Caspian's naked body connected to yours.

_To me you'll be forever sacred_

_I'm dying but I know my love will live_

_Your hand above, like a dove_

_Over me_

_And one day_

_The sea will guide you back to me_

**The End.**

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	43. UPDATE

I'm back!

Needless to say, this school year has been/still is pretty hectic. But luckily, my last final is May 13th, so from there on I'll be able to pick back up on the sequel! Only three more weeks! So many ideas for this sequel come to mind…and I don't know where to begin! Hopefully you all haven't forgotten about my story!

So until I can start writing again, I'd just like to ask all of you your opinion on how you want the story written. Do you want me to keep the second person? Or would you rather it be in third or first?

Also, tell me what you thought about the story. Like what scenes did you enjoy most from the last story? What were your favorite chapters? And which ones sucked? Stuff like that. After all, your opinion matters the most. I'd gladly give you all what you want to read .

See you all next month!


	44. SEQUEL IS UP

SEQUEL IS UP

GO READ IT!!!

**FINDING MYSELF: SEQUEL TO FINDING NARNIA**


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